Insurance is huge business around the world. Every year, people pay massive insurance premiums to cover everything from mortgage to health care. In 2017 alone, total gross written premiums rose over $4.6 trillion globally.
But in Nigeria, insurance is a pretty tricky business. The insurance sector is still seen as “nascent”, even though it has existed for more than 20 years. Total gross premium for insurance companies in Nigeria stood at a paltry N356 billion. Meanwhile, N3.43 trillion was deposited in Zenith bank alone by Nigerian customers in 2017.
One lesson we've learned in 4 years:
Health Insurance is a necessity for every Nigerian because according to our General Manager: “The average Nigerian family is one major sickness away from poverty”.
Retweet if you agree.#Fourtified#AutoGeniusat4 pic.twitter.com/GhZ1pDLRqY
— MyCoverGenius (@mycovergenius) October 18, 2018
Insurance culture in Nigeria is extremely weak, and to the detriment of us all. Despite having a population of over 180 million, Nigerian insurance coverage remains less than 8%. Meanwhile, millions of people are in dire need of insurance packages especially for healthcare among several others.
There are many reasons why health insurance is a bust in Nigeria. The most important though is that customers are unaware of both its benefit and how the premiums are sorted. And to be honest, insurance is probably the most esoteric sector in the finance world.
But health insurance is very important because its coverage helps reduce expenses in the case of some expensive medical checkups, diagnosis and treatment.
Recent attempts to make insurance accessible and simple have stalled or failed unfortunately for various reasons. But a new player is coming into the market with a different approach.
PiggyBank to the Rescue, Again
Fast-rising Nigerian savings platform, PiggyBank has a plan to change the narrative, not just about health insurance, but also about the general insurance sector in Nigeria.
Hi! Yes there is! pic.twitter.com/8VHlDuhjif
— PiggyVest (@PiggyBankNG) October 22, 2018
Last week, the startup announced a new partnership with Avon Healthcare Limited to provide health insurance services through the PiggyBank platform.
Called AvonFlex, the health insurance plan is an affordable package aimed at getting young Nigerians to get insured. For as low as N60 a day, Piggybank users can easily access health insurance to cover many eventualities.
As a cover for basic medical issues, AvonFlex by PiggyBank sounds very workable. With the plan, users can get N21,960 worth of insurance coverage if they subscribe to the minimum N60 a day plan. This is a good system that could help show new customers the benefits of having insurance coverage.
You guys are going to go very far
You're thinking
You're executing https://t.co/6Hwlzs3pxF— Olúwatósìn Olaseinde (@tosinolaseinde) October 22, 2018
AvonFlex by PiggyBank is the perfect example that shows insurance companies innovative ways to reach millions of potential customers. Just like someone said, they have been thinking and have provided solutions to a problem insurance companies have been racking their brains about.
At a recent insurance industry stakeholders meeting in June 2018, Jim Ovia, founder of Zenith Bank, tasked the insurance industry to leverage technology to grow. He asked them to seek partnership with both the NCC and the CBN to grow the industry.
Although it’s still very new and not widely known, the new PiggyBank package may have shown the corporate world the innovation it lacks. And the idea could be transplanted to provide insurance coverage for other important branches of insurance such as automobile and life.
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