Demand for deadly disease insurance to rise – CIIN

The President, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Mr Eddie Efekoha, has said the demand for insurance cover against deadly and other infectious diseases will rise because of the impact of COVID-19.

A statement by the company’s Corporate Communication Manager, Ben Mamedu, quoted the Efekoha as saying this, adding that insurance companies would have to be innovative to meet the demand.

He said, “Although there are no insurance covers for pandemic such as COVID-19 in Nigeria, a high demand for the cover is expected to rise in the coming weeks as people’s eyes would have been opened to the benefits of insurance.

“In the days, months, and years ahead, we expect insurance cover for pandemic and other infectious disease outbreaks to be in a high demand and the insurance industry would be expected to come up with an appropriate response. And when it is done, the insuring public would be made aware.”

Efekoha, who is also the chief executive officer of Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc, said getting an insurance cover was the surest way to have a peace of mind.

He said the insurance sector might not pay claims for business interruption flowing directly from the outbreak of coronavirus due to the absence of the cover but that the sector would respond appropriately when business interruption occurred due to specified risks in policies such as fire, explosion and other forms of damage.

The CIIN president noted that some burglars had taken advantage of the coronavirus lockdown by burgling shops of business owners who were observing the stay-at-home order of the Federal Government.

“In such a case, if the business owners have insurance, they can be rest assured of compensation,” he said.

Efekoha said that the outbreak was the major cause of the extension of the company’s offer period to the 1st of May from the 1st of April as approved by the Securities Exchange Commission.

He observed that discerning investors would usually wait up until the last week of the offer before putting their money through.

The insurer gave kudos to regulators for being supportive and proactive during this period.