NAIC to Insure 5 Million Farmers

Fri, Apr 10, 2015

By publisher

4 MIN READ

– 

The Nigeria Agricultural Insurance Corporation is to insure about five million Nigeria farmers in 2015  

|  By Anayo Ezugwu  |  Apr. 20, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT  |

AS the agriculture sector continues to record success, the Nigeria Agricultural Insurance Corporation, NAIC, is determined to ensure its sustainability. NAIC will increase the number of insured farmers in Nigeria from two million to five million in 2015. It is also determined to continue to play the leadership role in the agricultural insurance and general insurance business in Nigeria by providing excellent services to its clients. To achieve this, NAIC intends to gain deeper insight into customer’s specific needs and learn to deliver the relevant products to the right customers at the right price and at the expected level of service.

Bode Opadokun, managing director of the NAIC, said at the presentation of his score card after one year in office, that the corporation would continue to review its business process and models to build resilience and achieve the goals. In order to achieve its goals, the corporation will deploy fully functional, efficient and effective information communication technology, ICT, system in the development, distribution and sales of insurance products and services to all categories of farmers and other clientele in its insurance portfolio.

NAIC’s future plan for the sector include providing insurance and other climate smart risk management services to the Nigerian farmers at a minimal costs and  using electronic platforms and products that will mitigate risks mostly attributable to climate change which may tend to weaken or impact negatively on the gains made in agriculture in Nigeria as well as to  implement underwriting of Weather Index Insurance in Nigeria with the support of donor agencies and international reinsurance organisations. “We shall continue to cultivate and maintain strategic alliances with insurance brokers and underwriting firms for the marketing of our insurance products and services through their platforms and distribution channels,” he said.

According to Opadokun, the corporation will upgrade its offices in the commercial cities of Kano and Port Harcourt to control offices to improve its services and also harness the business opportunities in these cities and environs. “We will increase our share of the general insurance business market with a view to support the required growth of the corporation in terms of size and activities. Increase the corporation’s premium income by 40 percent in the current year. The agricultural services unit of the corporation would be strengthened with well trained personnel and with the required working tool to assist farmers in increased food production.”

Speaking on the achievements of the corporation in the past one year, Opadokun said, the corporation developed and implemented a new strategic business plan that was woven around the core values of integrity, speed, motivation, innovation, leadership and excellent service. According to him, the essence of this new business plan is to re-position the corporation with a view to harnessing all the business opportunities that comes along with the on-going transformation agenda in the country, so that in the long run, the corporation remains the most preferred brand in the provision of agricultural insurance services in the country.

He said within the period, the corporation engaged the services of a branding firm to conceptualise and design a new communication strategy for its operations, adding that the essence was to create the necessary awareness of its products and services and ensure that it remains very visible in the consciousness of the various consumers of insurance products and services nationwide. “Since the last quarter of year 2014, we have embarked on various sensitisation and awareness drive among farmer groups and cooperatives, independent systems analysts and ICT consultants were engaged to critically examine and review the business process of the corporation,” he said, adding that based on their findings and recommendations, new insurance software was acquired which, according to him, is presently being deployed to facilitate turn-around time.

|