Insurance remains the best financial asset- NIA

The Nigeria Insurance Association (NIA), an umbrella body that shepherd insurance companies in the country, has said insurance remains the best financial asset any Nigeria can possess.
The Chairman, NIA, Mr Tope Smart, said in Lagos that insurance took such lead because of its mitigating power.
Smart said 80 per cent of Nigerians lacked the knowledge on wonders of insurance.
He explained that insurance was the purchase unexpected risks of individuals, corporate entities and government to sustain continuity.
According to the NIA boss, one paramount aspect that needs to be projected is how insurance companies bill moderate money (premium) to underwrite the risks.
“If the loss eventually occurs, higher claims are paid by the insurers to mitigate the risk,” he said.
He further said that despite the paramount role insurance played, less than 3 million Nigerians who live with insurance insurance penetration just rose from 1.1 to 1.9 per cent.
“According to the 2016 EFInA survey on access to financial services in Nigeria, there had been a marginal increase from 1.1 per cent to 1.9 per cent in the proportion of adults that have access to insurance.
“It is not a surprise that two years down the line, the position has not changed much and with marginal increase notwithstanding.
“There continues to exist a wide gulf between the number of Nigerians with access to insurance in relation to the population size of over 170 million,” he said.
He maintained the there is a wide spread ignorance on the benefits of insurance, but that it remained the best financial product for the growth of the sector.