INTRODUCTION
Insurance
service providers safeguard against risks. Any device aimed at reducing the
chance of a risk occurring, when it happens, reducing the extent of it’s damage
and providing the affected person with compensation is a form of insurance. Insurance as a
modern concept for solving risk related problems depends on co-operation of a
large number of people for it’s success. This service does not claim that a loss cannot be sustained if one has an
insurance cover or
protection, rather it guarantees that should the unexpected
happen within the specified period, the insurer shall compensate the insured in
accordance to the contract terms. The compensation payable is nothing other
than financial assistance. The insured pay premium as a consideration to the insurer
periodically. Nigeria is a
country with a very large potentials for the insurance market; yet is not doing
well due to some factors or things they have failed to do.
REASONS FOR THEIR UNDER PERFORMANCE
One of the
earlier the most resilient problems the insurance industry has been contending
with and will continue to contend with is the problem of ignorance of the benefits
of insurance products. Many do not know what insurance is all about, Even the
educated ones. Some believe
insurance is a smart way of extorting money from the people. The problems
created by some dubious practitioners who will collect premium without
remitting same to the appropriate quarters do not help matters either. Insurance they
say encourage savings but what we see in the Nigerian insurance market is the
direct opposite of it. Civil service retires who took life insurance for which
they hope to enjoy their pension upon retirement are not finding it funny. Some
of them die out of the frustration they get while trying to get their pensions
paid. Some retired Federal Civil Servants Complain that those they retired at
the same rank with are receiving higher pensions than they themselves.
How then
will the public trust a system that at the moment is unfair to some group of individuals. One of the
secondary functions of insurance Services is security, the more fact that an
investor knows that if anything happens to him, the insurance Company will
provide security for the risk insured, this makes the investor to invest more
but in reality, it is very difficult for providers of insurance services to
perform this function in the event of a mishap. Some insurance firms who engage
in sharp practices, either delay the payment of compensation or even the
insurance decide to pay, they under compensate the insurance i.e they wouldn’t
lay up to the supposed amount. The insurance
companies in Nigeria are guilty of not forming their social responsibility in
the society they find themselves. Their social responsiveness to their
immediate society is in a partial state, this factor, is also a reason why
their services have not been fully welcomed in the Nigerian market. The documents
involved before an insurance conduct can be entered into is very intimidating
and scarce away the uneducated and a large percentage of the people who need
these service fall into this group, due to their. Inability to read and write,
they wouldn’t know in full detail what is contained in the polices of the
insurance company.
THE WAY FORWARD
It is believed
that insurance practitioners especially the brokers will still need to do more
in insurance products, especially in educating the public on the numerous
benefits of insurance products and how such benefits can be harnessed. This will need
intensive campaign at the grassroots level. Inadequate efforts in this
direction have detailed the huge premium that we are expecting from the
insuring public. Hence the old attitudes
the insurance that was based on ignored keeps rearing it’s ugly head against
the growth of the industry, especially the broking sub-sector. The age old
religious belief that God is the best insurance. However, we have to note the
fact that insurance is God’s creation though man to address a wide variety of
human needs, particularly the antidote is appropriate product development and aggressive Campaign.
Secondly the
regulators of the insurance services should do more in ensuring that insurance
practitioners compensate the insured or their beneficiaries as at when due,
because this will go a long way in building a good image for the sector and
further increase patronage from the public which will be as a result of the
public having trust in them knowing that their money are not stolen from them
but been kept for them in a place safe and indirectly they will be ready for
the unforeseen mishap.
In fulfillment of
their social responsibility, it is important that operators of the insurance sector
should develop loss prevention techniques, educating road users on road safety,
identifying with fire fighters,
sponsorship of tournaments, philanthropic
actions, award of scholarships to students, contributing views in
shaping the political and social
ideologies of the society
QUESTION
Pick a product
marketable in Nigeria, identify the shortcomings
Further identify
and discuss how to better market the product in other to achieve customer
satisfaction
“A Study of the Insurance Services in Nigeria”
SOURCE:
DEPARTMENT: MARKETING
FACULTY : MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
COURSE CODE: MKT 342
COURSE TITLE: BEHAVIORAL ASPECT OF MARKETING