ACCI, NAICOM companion to strengthen SME insurance coverage

The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Business, by means of its Nationwide Coverage Advocacy Centre, has partnered with the Nationwide Insurance coverage Fee and key business stakeholders to encourage small and medium enterprises in Nigeria to embrace insurance coverage.

This was revealed on Tuesday throughout a high-level webinar titled ‘Can SMEs Nonetheless Afford the Danger of Not Insuring Their Companies?’

In his opening remarks, ACCI Director-Basic Mr. Agabaidu Jideani emphasised the vulnerability of SMEs to dangers akin to pure disasters and monetary crises.

“Companies, no matter their measurement, are uncovered to a myriad of dangers, together with pure disasters, monetary crises, and different unexpected challenges. Such disruptions can severely impression enterprise operations and, in excessive instances, threaten their very survival,” he mentioned.

Jideani famous that many SMEs in Nigeria fail to contemplate insurance coverage a elementary danger administration technique, leaving them extremely susceptible to financial shocks.

“By means of this webinar, our goal is to bridge this information hole by enlightening SMEs on the strategic significance of insurance coverage, dispelling frequent myths, and providing sensible steerage on deciding on essentially the most appropriate insurance coverage merchandise,” he added.

The Chief Government Officer of NAICOM, Mr. Olusegun Omosehin, represented by Aisha Bashir, Head of Microinsurance, highlighted the significance of insurance coverage for enterprise continuity.

“MSMEs are the spine of any economic system, together with Nigeria’s. Regardless of their financial significance, MSMEs confront a number of obstacles that would jeopardise their long-term viability, together with unanticipated hazards akin to fires, theft, well being emergencies, pure catastrophes, and even the demise of key people,” she mentioned.

She additional careworn that insurance coverage offers a security web for SMEs, shielding them from dangers that would end in lack of property and revenue.

“Given these risks, MSMEs will need to have programs in place to safe their operations and property and guarantee enterprise continuity,” she famous.

Talking on regulatory efforts to enhance entry to insurance coverage for SMEs, Bashir acknowledged, “NAICOM is dedicated to making sure that insurance coverage turns into accessible, reasonably priced, and comprehensible for MSMEs throughout the nation.”

She added that the fee has launched initiatives akin to microinsurance and takaful pointers to offer reasonably priced and inclusive insurance coverage merchandise for small companies.

Director of Gulf Insurance coverage Brokers Restricted, Francis Nzeh, emphasised the necessity for SMEs to leverage revolutionary insurance coverage options.

“Insurance coverage serves as a monetary security web that protects companies and people towards unexpected dangers. It offers protection for numerous threats, starting from information breaches and pure disasters to accidents and provide chain disruptions,” he mentioned.

Nzeh outlined the advantages of insurance coverage, together with monetary safety, debt safety, tax advantages, and asset safety. He urged SMEs to discover various kinds of insurance coverage insurance policies tailor-made to their wants, together with well being, car, cyber, and public legal responsibility insurance coverage.

The webinar emphasised that insurance coverage is not only an expense however an important instrument for enterprise development and sustainability.

“In an more and more unsure world, the place dangers are extra pronounced than ever, MSMEs should embrace insurance coverage as a proactive technique for safeguarding their enterprise operations,” Bashir acknowledged.

Jideani assured individuals that suggestions from the webinar could be conveyed to related authorities to form insurance policies that foster enterprise development.

“The insights gained from right now’s discussions is not going to solely safeguard your companies but additionally contribute to the broader financial stability of our nation,” he added.

Specialists on the webinar famous that SMEs play a major position in Nigeria’s economic system, contributing about 48 per cent of the nationwide GDP over the previous 5 years. Nonetheless, many SMEs battle with insurance coverage protection as a result of excessive premiums, restricted consciousness of obtainable insurance coverage merchandise, and different monetary constraints.

Anchor of the webinar, Sunday Ugwu, highlighted the dimensions of the SME sector in Nigeria.

“Nigeria has roughly 41.5 million SMEs, making them a important section of the economic system. But, they face numerous challenges, together with insufficient entry to info and expertise, weak regulatory frameworks, a scarcity of expert personnel, and substandard enterprise practices. The query stays whether or not a sector with such an enormous variety of companies can afford to stay underinsured,” he mentioned.

Head of Coaching Academy at AXA Mansard Insurance coverage, Chidinma Gbemileke, known as for stronger regulatory enforcement to make sure truthful practices within the insurance coverage sector. She emphasised the necessity for elevated sensitisation campaigns leveraging digital platforms and neighborhood outreach to teach SMEs on insurance coverage advantages.

A consultant of Winock Insurance coverage Brokers Ltd, Mr. Emmanuel Edorotu, urged SMEs to shift their notion of insurance coverage from an non-obligatory expense to an important funding. He careworn the significance of tailor-made options that handle sector-specific dangers and promote monetary safety.

The Government Director of ACCI-NPAC, Dr. Chidiebere Onwumere, who organised the webinar, expressed gratitude to the management of ACCI for his or her steady assist. He additionally recommended the audio system for offering insightful discussions on the significance of insurance coverage for companies.

Onwumere known as for elevated collaboration to create widespread consciousness throughout the enterprise neighborhood, encouraging SMEs to embrace insurance coverage as a safeguard for his or her operations.