By Adedapo Adesanya
**Offers Insurance for N1000
In order to deepen the retail segment of the insurance market, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has granted Consolidated Hallmark Insurance (CHI Plc) approval-in-principle to operate a new Micro Life Assurance subsidiary, CHI Micro Insurance Limited.
With the approval by NAICOM to commence operations, CHI Micro Insurance Limited is set to deepen the insurance penetration by ensuring that those who had never considered themselves able to afford an insurance cover can now do so. The insurance premium can be as low as N1,000 to upwards of N5,000. The products will be tailored to meet the needs of the customers.
This approval by the industry regulator to allow CHI Plc successfully operate a Micro Life Assurance business followed the successful delivering of its General Insurance business line.
Speaking on the development, Managing Director/CEO of CHI Plc, Mr Eddie Efekoha, who is also the current President of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), said the operational license would further help in the effort to deepen the retail segment of the insurance market.
“We are set to take off”, he said, “having put in place a robust network of retail and agency team that have contributed and continue to contribute immensely to the growth of the parent company.”
“The future is in retail business and micro insurance if we are to reach the mass of the Nigerian people with quality, reliable and affordable insurance solutions. This low-income segment has remained largely untapped and we are ready to give it our best shot,” he added.
According to Mr Efekoha, the business office for the micro-insurance company has since been acquired and ready for occupation by the new team. The business will leverage on technology and strategic partnerships to give its customers an exciting insurance services experience.
This positive development is coming on the heels of a recent disclosure by the company’s Chairman, Mr Obinna Ekezie, to shareholders during the Extra Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) held to approve additional capital raise for the company, that the Micro Insurance subsidiary was scheduled to commence full operations in the first quarter of the year 2020.
He had told the shareholders who gathered to approve the additional capital raise plan of the company that “the CHI Microinsurance Limited is on the verge of being granted an operational license by NAICOM, after having met all the regulatory requirements and paid the statutory deposit to the Central Bank of Nigeria.”
With the approval by NAICOM, the Micro Insurance Life subsidiary is set to kick-start full operations, the regulator said that the approval was considered after demonstration of confidence in the capacity of CHI Plc to successfully operate a Micro Life Assurance business, having successfully delivered on its General Insurance business line.
Dipo Olowookere