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Insurance Policies Are Beneficial To Women in Nigeria - Adetola Adegbayi

Insurance	1091 VIEWS
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Saturday, January 23, 2021 /01.30PM / Ayomide Oguntoye for WebTV / Header Image Credit: Leadway Assurance

In a recent conversation on 'Insurance and Women in Nigeria', Adetola Adegbayi, Executive Director/General Business, Leadway Assurance explained the importance of insurance as a means for investment, especially for women in Nigeria.

According to Adegbayi, women were increasingly becoming breadwinners in Nigeria and shoulder more responsibilities. The economic landscape also shows that women, in most homes, cater largely to the needs of the family, therefore they are expected to take charge of their financial security. She said, "insurance, though a cost, should be seen as money for the future".

In terms of the predominant insurance policies taken by women to lessen the risk of future losses, the insurance expert said that a person's 'lifestyle' should be considered as a factor as well as the needs.

According to her, the insurance policies that are beneficial to women and their families are the insurance that cover properties like the homeowner comprehensive and business protection insurance. Beyond the gimmicks, she said that it was essential that women with or without property protect themselves in case of accidents and health problems.

Other policies that women may need include an education protection plan and mortgage protection insurance. The choice of these insurance policies, however, largely depend on a woman's lifestyle.

Speaking further on the education of children, Adegbayi advised that mothers should determine the cost of the education on an annual basis and purchase an education insurance plan ahead. She suggested that while planning the domestic inflation rate should be considered.

"Women who understand what it means to be incapable of providing for the needs of their family, become the vanguard of ensuring financial responsibility, therefore, women regardless of their profession could become part-time insurance agents but it is important that they understand the importance of financial planning" she added. Adegbayi charged women to be strong advocates of insurance policies across the country.

On gender imbalance in the insurance sector, she said that the women who have chosen to be proactive about the insurance business should be respected based. The gender imbalance seen in the industry could be the natural order of the choices made by women.

Speaking further on increasing women participation in the insurance industry, Adegbayi said that currently, women were thriving in the sector and some run successful brokerage companies, however, she observed that there was need for more women to own and run their risk protection businesses, thereby inspiring others.

She encouraged women to venture into the Insurance Industry as there was a place for every woman in the industry. She suggested that women could take up roles of financial risk analysts.

The insurance expert noted actions taken by Leadway Assurance to drive increased enlightenment and insurance penetration in 2021. She said that the company was promoting cyber insurance as a means of further protection of business owners.

She equally mentioned that the company was running a thought leadership program as a means of enlightening people about insurance.