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As many insurance companies are engaged in a rat race to swell up their premium income, Noor Takaful has carved a niche for itself as a company offering unique values to make insurance more meaningful to members of the public. Following the success of its roadshow in Kano, the company was recently in Ibadan where to extend its unique services to Oyo State residents. SULAIMON OLANREWAJU reports.
The Insurance Industry is, no doubt, a very important sector of the Nigerian economy. However, it has failed to maximize its potential for several reasons. Unlike other markets where the insurance sector, being the biggest segment in the financial industry, controls the economy, this is not the case in Nigeria as the insurance industry continues to struggle to overcome twin problems of ignorance of its values and acceptance from the public. Besides, customers who have had to subscribe to conventional insurance in Nigeria have been made to regret taking such a decision because many insurance companies have failed to live up to their promises or obligations. All these developments combined have resulted in low patronage and little or no contributions to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the economy.
However, in a bid to drive financial inclusion among the Nigerian populace. In 2012, the Central Bank of Nigeria initiated the National Financial Inclusion Strategy to serve as a road map towards significantly increasing the access and use of financial services. Consequently, the National Insurance Commission of Nigeria (NAICOM) also issued Takaful-Insurance operational guidelines in 2013 to facilitate the development of the Takaful industry to enhance financial inclusion. However, despite the enormous market potential and government commitment, the growth of Takaful operations in Nigeria has not been impressive. Although there has been an effort by the government to unleash the potential for Takaful insurance, the growth in Takaful operations is still at a nascent stage even after over a decade of existence.
Determined to change the narrative, Noor Takaful Limited has initiated a campaign to take the message of Takaful to different parts of the country to increase the level of awareness among Nigerians.
In March 2022, the Noor Takaful team took the message to Kano where a large of participants were educated and informed on what Takaful insurance represents and why Nigerians should subscribe to it.
More than six months after the successful activation exercise in Kano, the train moved to the ancient city of Ibadan to intensify the awareness campaign about Takaful insurance among residents. The weeklong roadshow campaign, between September 26 and September 29, began with a courtesy visit to Olubadan of Ibadan, His Royal Highness, ObaMohoodOlalekanBalogun.
Receiving the leadership team of Noor Takaful Limited, Oba Balogun thanked the team for choosing to introduce Takaful to the people of Ibadan, particularly the low and middle-income earners. According to him, this gesture would go a long way to make residents, particularly market men and women, accountable and financially disciplined.
For the second day, it was an opportunity for Islamic scholars and industry experts in both academia and the private sector to brainstorm and provide insights on Takaful insurance for participants.
With the theme: “Takaful: The Next Frontier For Insurance”, panelists including scholars, businessmen, religious leaders, as well practitioners in the industry analysed the challenges hindering the acceptance of Takaful in Nigeria.
The panellists, which included the Chief Imam of Oluyole Central Mosque, AlhajiMudasirBada; Chairman, Oyo State Muslim Community, AlhajiKunleSanni; Chairman, Vanguard Pharmacy Limited, AlhajiTaofiqOdukoya; Rector, College of Insurance and Financial Management (CIFM), Dr.YesideAbiodunOyetayo and Chief Operating Officer, Citiserve Limited, Dr.JubrilSalaudeen, who moderated the session all agreed that it was good to know that Noor Takaful is taking the lead to ensure that Nigerians see Takaful as the best alternative form of insurance.
At the event, stakeholders drawn from both the private sector and the academia advised Nigerians, to subscribe to Takaful insurance as it remains the only ethical insurance that offers enormous benefits to all members of society.
Giving his welcome remarks, the Chairman of Noor Takaful Insurance Limited, Mr. Muhtar Bakare, noted that the workshop was put together to deepen the conversation on the role Takaful Insurance can play in managing the increasing level of uncertainties in the world by providing support when necessary and promoting collaboration and equity for the people.
He stressed further that the Takaful model, which operates on the Sharia principles of empathy and fairness, remains the best option that can help to promote financial inclusion and boost interest in insurance in Nigeria.
According to him, the model offers an affordable window of inclusion to millions of Nigerians who have hitherto been deprived of benefiting from the formal financial sectors of the economy.
He said the Takaful model has come at an auspicious time to mitigate the impact of the global economic decline as well as devastation to households and businesses.
“The Alternative Finance sector of which Takaful Insurance is a major sub-sector presents credible routes to stability through alternative models of economic management and alternative models of delivery of financial services to create more sustainable, more equitable and more inclusive growth,” he said.
Delivering his keynote remarks, the Chairman of Oyo State Muslim Community, AlhajiKunleSanni, represented by Barrister Rasheed Attah, stated that the Takaful model remains the best insurance option for Nigerians as it is guided and regulated by ethics, equity and fairness as prescribed by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), which is the industry regulator.
On his part, the Vice-Chairman of Noor Takaful Insurance Limited, Mr. AminuTukur, stated that the company was delighted to bring the message of Takaful insurance to Ibadan, saying that it would continue to drive massive awareness for Takaful to the extent that it becomes widely acceptable among Nigerians including non-Muslims.
Tukur noted that the workshop is a good intervention that would certainly contribute to deepening Nigerians’ understanding of what they stand to benefit by subscribing to this kind of insurance.
Speaking during the panel session, the Rector of CIFM, Dr YesideOyetayo, who attributed the challenges facing the insurance sector in Nigeria to include awareness and trust, disclosed that Takaful remains the alternative option for addressing such concerns given the ethics guiding its operations.
While commending Noor Takaful for its outstanding contributions to promoting the cause of ethical insurance in Nigeria, she tasked the company to give priority attention to designing products for women as this would help a great deal in driving financial inclusion.
“Statistics have shown that 67.8 per cent of women in Oyo State are financially excluded. This is quite alarming because Ibadan women are enterprising. I think Noor Takaful needs to have insurance provided for women. In doing this, you need to do market research to find out what they truly need rather than coming up with generic products,” she said.
In his submission, Bada stated that any organisation interested in practising Takaful must be ready to align with its dictates, hence the need to ensure that the spirit of honesty and accountability which guided its operation is upheld and imbibed as norms among the workforce.
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In his submission, Odukoya who relayed his experience as Noor Takaful’s customer in the last two years, declared that the company has led by example in the discharge of its responsibilities to policyholders given the level of transparency and professionalism exhibited so far.
According to him, the company’s commitment to its obligations for customers has contributed a lot to boosting confidence in the insurance sector in Nigeria
“I will recommend them to those that own businesses because they are transparent and professional in what they do,” he said.
Also speaking, Salaudeen who moderated the session, stated that the workshop is an eye-opener for both Muslims and non-Muslims on the need to take Takaful insurance seriously, adding that with time, Nigerian people would totally embrace it.
Also commenting, Managing Director of Noor Takaful Insurance Limited, RilwanSunmonu, while dismissing the notion that Takaful was only available for Muslims, noted that its recent record revealed that over 35 per cent of participants on board are non-Muslims.
He explained that, though the industry is still confronted with trust challenges, the company remains committed to changing the narrative by ensuring it keeps to its promise.
The workshop also afforded participants the privilege of asking questions that bother their minds about the Takaful model.
The remaining two days saw the brand activation team storm homes, offices, malls, and different parts of the city to spread the good news of Takaful to residents.
Now that Noor Takaful is taking the message of hope to Nigerians, It is hoped that the growing acceptance of the Takaful model will reposition the insurance industry to enable it to take up the leading role in Africa’s financial market.
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