Insurance In Nigeria Research Articles

Information and Communication Technology in Nigeria Insurance Industry: Developments, Challenges and Prospects

Insurance industry provides insurance protection/financial guarantee to the insuring public in a given economy say Nigeria. The existence of risk allowed impetus for the insurance industry. Firms, governments and households act in ways that mitigate the adverse effects of risks on their assets, operations and social responsibilities. Insurance contracts are among the risk management choices of the persons exposed to risks. In Nigeria, the insurance industry is not too popular and needs to build trust and confidence among the insuring public. Information and Communication technology innovations that are changing the manner of doing things have potentials of facilitating, boasting trust and keeping insurance industry relevant. These can be realized via efficient insurance service delivery and innovations. This study using scooping approach aims at examining the level of information and communication technology (ICT) applications in Nigeria insurance industry, and promoting the ICTs in the industry. The study while identifying favourable demography and sustained innovations in ICT in Nigeria recommends sustained interest of the stakeholders towards adoption of ICT in Nigeria insurance industry.

Projecting Insurance Penetration Rate in Nigeria: An ARIMA Approach

Insurance industries' market penetration level is revealed by the premiums paid as a proportion to overall economic output. Nigeria's insurance penetration rate is 0.33 per cent despite its population advantage of about 200 million people. This rate is far below the average African rate of 2.98 per cent, and the lowest compared to some Sub-Sahara African countries like Kenya, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa. The paper uses annual data on insurance penetration (IP) for the period 1981 to 2018. Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model was used to projects the insurance penetration rate for 12 years (2019 to 2030). The result shows that the insurance penetration rate keeps decreasing but at a slower rate. The paper recommends that the national regulatory bodies of insurance such as National Insurance Commission of Nigeria (NAICOM) should innovate and implement policies. This action will pave ways for the insurers to design insurance coverage, which will meet the specific needs of heterogeneous societies in order to spur insurance penetration rates.

Effective communication approaches as tool for achieving Universal Health Coverage through social health insurance in Nigeria.

National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) designed various Social Health Insurance programmes to achieve universal coverage in healthcare delivery in the country. The Scheme is adjudged to have failed to achieve its primary objective, especially in the informal sector, due to communication lapses. This study has employed an integrative literature review method to appraise the principles underlying effective health communication, the communication approaches of the NHIS, and recommended plausible alternatives. Media integration, advocacy campaign, social media, domestications of ICTs, communication in multiple languages, and active involvement of communities in the programme were found to imbibe some practical communication principles that can help improve communications to a target audience.

What medicines do households keep in their cabinets? Understanding the possession and use of medicines at home and the role of health insurance in Nigeria.

BackgroundGlobally, the possession of medicines stored at home is increasing. However, little is known about the determinants of possessing medicines, their usage according to clinical purpose, which we term ‘correct drug match’, and the role of health insurance.MethodsThis study uses data from a 2013 survey evaluating a health insurance program in Kwara State, Nigeria, which upgraded health facilities and subsidized insurance premiums. The final dataset includes 1,090 households and 4,641 individuals. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regressions were conducted at both the individual level and at the level of the medicines kept in respondents’ homes to understand the determinants of medicine possession and correct drug match, respectively, and to investigate the effect of health insurance on both.ResultsA total of 9,266 medicines were classified with 61.2% correct match according to self-reported use, 11.9% incorrect match and 26.9% indeterminate. Most medicines (73.0%) were obtained from patent proprietary medicine vendors (PPMVs). At 36.6%, analgesics were the most common medicine held at home, while anti-malarial use had the highest correct match at 96.1%. Antihistamines, vitamins and minerals, expectorants, and antibiotics were most likely to have an incorrect match at respectively 35.8%, 33.6%, 31.9%, and 26.6%. Medicines were less likely to have a correct match when found with the uneducated and obtained from public facilities. Enrolment in the insurance program increased correct matches for specific medicines, notably antihypertensives and antibiotics (odds ratio: 25.15 and 3.60, respectively).ConclusionSince PPMVs serve as both the most popular and better channel compared to the public sector to obtain medicines, we recommend that policymakers strengthen their focus on these vendors to educate communities on medicine types and their correct use. Health insurance programs that provide affordable access to improved-quality health facilities represent another important avenue for reducing the burden of incorrect drug use. This appears increasingly important in view of the global rise in antimicrobial resistance.

International Financial Reporting Standards and Reporting Quality of Quoted Firms in Nigeria

This study examines the relationship between International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption in Nigeria and the quality of annual financial reports of companies quoted on the NSE for a period of eight years 2008 to 2015. The data was derived from secondary sources from annual financial reports of the sampled firms which were in two panels; four pre-adoption and four post-adoption periods. The data on selected accounting quality metrics of earnings management, earnings smoothing, timely loss recognition, value relevance of accounting information was analysed using pool OLS. The results indicate a significant increase in all the accounting quality variables except variability in cashflow, and an insignificant relationship between financial performances on accounting quality. It is concluded that the adoption of IFRS has resulted in improvement in the quality of annual financial reports of quoted companies in Nigeria. The study therefore recommends that relevant regulatory institutions like Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nigeria Insurance Commission (NIC), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) should ensure consistent and appropriate compliance and adoption of every requirement of IFRS so far issued by IASB by way of a pre-presentation audit, and advance the adoption of same by all other business entities operating in Nigeria.

Motor insurance business portfolio and the gross premium of insurance industry: A case of Nigeria

Purpose of the Research: This study examines the contribution of motor insurance business to the gross premium income of Nigeria insurance industry. Methodology: The research design used for this study is ex-post-facto design. Ordinary least square (OLS) regression model used to analyze the secondary data extracted from statistical bulletin of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from 1981 to 2011, and Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA) digest from 2012 to 2018. The population for this research is the entire quoted insurance companies in Nigeria. The sample size for the study is 38 years (from 1981 to 2018). Findings: The result of the findings shows that insurance premium of motor has no significant effect on insurance gross premium of Nigeria. In the same vein, insurance premium income of general accident has no significant effect on gross premium income of insurance companies in Nigeria. Implications: The government and insurance regulatory bodies should develop more strategies to ensure high compliance to third-party motor insurance buying in Nigeria. Originality: The originality of study is no doubt because there are very few of studies on motor insurance in Nigeria

The influence of health insurance enrolment on maternal and childcare use in Nigeria

Purpose Health insurance reduces the cost of using modern maternal and child cares and encourages women to use modern care services. This is because health insurance scheme spread the burden of maternal care usage across people and overtime. In Nigeria, there is a dearth of research evidence on the effect of health insurance enrolment on maternal and childcare use. This study examined the effect of health insurance coverage on maternal and childcare use in Nigeria, drawing upon data from the most recent National Demographic and Health Survey (2018). Methods Three outcome indicators were used: a minimum of four antenatal care (ANC) visits, place of delivery, and complete child immunization. Descriptive and predictive analytical methods were utilized. A representative sample of 33,715 women who reported recent birth within the last five years preceding the Survey was used for the analyses. Analyses were undertaken using STATA version 13.0 for windows. Results The results showed that 57% of the women made a minimum of four ANC visits, 41% delivered in health institutions, and 27% undertook complete child immunization. Enrolment in health insurance was low as only 2.3% of the women were under any form of health insurance coverage. However, enrolment in health insurance significantly improves the odds for a minimum of four ANC visits [aOR: 1.52, p = 0.00] and health facility delivery [aOR: 1.42, p = 0.00]. However, there is no significant difference in complete child immunization between women who were under health insurance and those who were not [aOR: 1.36, p = 0.28]. Also, residing in an urban area, Southern geopolitical zones, and being drawn from wealthy homes confer an advantage on women to use modern maternal and child healthcare. Conclusion Pragmatic interventions should be initiated to encourage women’s enrolment in health insurance in Nigeria. Community-based health insurance scheme should be encouraged among rural women and those of them in the informal sector.

Medical Malpractice and Awareness of Professional Liability Insurance among Physicians and Surgeons in Nigeria

Although insurance is the traditional backbone of risk management of any modern country, yet only few people and organisations purchase insurance in Nigeria. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the level of awareness and use of professional indemnity insurance (PII) by Nigerian medical doctors in contending with medical litigations. The research is domiciled in five local government areas in Lagos metropolitan city Nigeria. The research data was collected from sampled respondents of 50 resident doctors in both private and public medical institutions. The results revealed that majority of the medical doctors in the sample were unaware of PII and rarely made use of it in contending with financial liabilities. The research therefore recommends that insurance managers in Nigeria should boost insurance awareness among medical doctors through market communications and public educational programmes, to stimulate the latent need for insurance services among medical doctors in Nigeria.

Health insurance and the financial implications of sickle cell disease among parents of affected children attending a tertiary facility in Lagos, south-west Nigeria.

Introductionthere is a paucity of data on the financial implications of sickle cell disease on households of affected children and their use of health insurance in Nigeria. This study assessed the awareness of health insurance, patterns of health service utilization and financial implications of sickle cell disease among children seeking care at a tertiary facility in Nigeria.Methodsa structured questionnaire was administered to parents of 314 children with sickle cell disease attending the pediatric hematology unit of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital between May and December 2019.Resultsmean age of the children was 91.5 ± 43.1 months. M: F was 1.17: 1. 45.5% of households earned above NGN 150,000 (USD 417) monthly. 71.3% of the parents had heard of health insurance but only 20.7% were enrolled in a health insurance scheme. Awareness of health insurance was significantly associated with social class (p=0.000) and monthly household income (p=0.000). 60.8% of the parents preferred pre-facility treatment. Social class (p=0.01) and monthly household income (p=0.001) were significantly associated with home treatment. Time on admission ranged from 2-18 days with an average of 4.31 days. Average cost of hospitalization was USD 148 ± USD 14.2 and total cost of care incurred was USD 20,787. Neither age of child (p=0.857), estimated household income (p=0.863) nor social class (p=0.397) was associated with cost of care.Conclusiona high cost of care was observed in our study population underscoring the need for increased awareness and access to health insurance for households of children with sickle cell disease.

PNS70 THE EFFECT OF OUT-OF-POCKET HEALTHCARE PAYMENT ON THE FINANCES OF NIGERIAN FAMILIES

The failed Nigerian National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has left Nigerians with huge medical bills to pay out-of-pocket. This study is geared towards determining how this out-of-pocket payments affect the finances, welfare and livelihood of Nigerian families. Data from the world bank shows that Nigeria’s poverty headcount ratio is at $1.90 a day, showing that a good number of Nigerians are already living in poverty. The study was carried out in 3 hospitals in Enugu metropolis. In this study, a simple questionnaire was distributed to all participants who agreed to release a little information about their healthcare expenditure and how it has affected them. Out of 400 adult respondents, there were more female (54%) than male respondents (46%). The average monthly earning of each family was at around $120, and about 40% of families with one family member hospitalized spent almost 50% of the monthly earning on health care bills, then struggled with the remaining half for the rest of the month. Over two third of the respondents agreed that they had to make significant adjustments to family budget due to the medical expenditure. About 11% of the respondents had one or more relation suffering from a chronic illness that has required prolonged hospitalization, and they complained of having spent almost 90% of their monthly earning on healthcare bills and subsequent borrowing for survival. At the end, 92% of the respondents said they’d prefer a working health insurance plan that will help minimize out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure. This study has shown how much out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure affects the welfare of Nigerian families and the need for a working health insurance in Nigeria. If people must rise from poverty lines in Nigeria, out-of-pocket healthcare spending must be brought to the barest minimum.

Factors influencing willingness and ability to pay for social health insurance in Nigeria.

BackgroundMany low and middle-income countries are increasingly cognisant of the need to offer financial protection to its citizens through pre-payment schemes in order to curb high out of pocket expenditure and catastrophic spending on healthcare. However, there is limited rigorous contextual evidence to make decisions regarding optimal design of such schemes. This study assesses the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for the recently introduced state contributory health insurance scheme (SHIS) in Nigeria.MethodsThe study took place in 6 local government areas in Kaduna state, North-west Nigeria. Data were collected from a household survey using a three-stage cluster sampling approach, with each household having the same probability of being selected. Interviews were conducted with 4000 individuals in 1020 households. Contingent valuation was used to elicit the willing to pay (WTP) for the household using the bidding game technique. The relationship between socioeconomic status and WTP was also examined using logistic regression models.FindingsAbout 82% of the household heads were willing to pay insurance premiums for their households, which came to an average of 513 Naira (1.68 USD) per month per person. The average amount individuals were willing to pay was lower in rural areas (611 Naira) compared to urban areas (463 Naira). These results were influenced by household size, level of education, occupation and household income. In addition, only 65% of the households had the ability to pay the average premium.ConclusionSocioeconomic factors influence individuals’ WTP for contributory health insurance schemes. It is important to create awareness about the benefits of the insurance scheme, especially in rural areas, and in both the formal and informal sectors in Nigeria. WTP information can inform the amount of insurance premiums. However, it is important to consider differences between the WTP and the cost of benefits package to be offered, as the premium amount may need to be subsidized with public financing.

COMPENSATION MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEES’ MOTIVATION IN THE INSURANCE SECTOR: EVIDENCE FROM NIGERIA

Reimbursement has been one of the frameworks adopted in organisations to attract, hire and keep competent employees that will strategically key in to the firm’s vision, task and goals. Retaining skillful employees in officialdom is imperative for the progress and enrichment of general operation of a firm. Staff that is well motivated will strive to ensure that competitive advantage goal of the organisation is sustained and achieved over their competitors. The aim of this paper is to explore the association between compensation management and employees’ motivation in the insurance sector of Nigeria. This study employed a non-experimental design using questionnaires as a measuring instrument to gather information. There were 250 questionnaires administered, 213 collected while 212 (84.4%) thereof were found to be usable. By employing the Pearson product moment correlation coefficient, it was discovered that association exists between reward administration and workers’ motivation but a weak one. It was revealed that in Nigeria insurance industry, compensation management bears a minimal influence on the enthusiasm of workers’. It is hence recommended that remuneration package of employees’ in the insurance industry in Nigeria should be given priority by carrying out periodic review of the salary and making it at par with other industries in the financial sector of Nigeria.

MERGERS AND ACQUISITION OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF INSURANCE COMPANY

The new racialization directive by National Insurance Commission (NICOM) were aimed to strengthening the capital base of Nigerian Insurance Companies. The new risk based supervision model (RBSM) ultimately revolutionize the operations of the entire Industry for efficient and effective performance of the Nigerian Insurance Industry. The new requirements will engender business stabilization which will outlaw the prevailing situation where every insurance company underwrites all manners of risks even when financially unfit for them. One of the measure put in place to achieve this are Mergers and acquisitions. Bigger companies were encouraged to buy smaller ones while the smaller ones put up themselves for acquisition. This article presents the methods, process and the technicalities involved in Mergers and acquisitions in the Nigeria Insurance Industry

Voluntary health insurance in Nigeria: Effects on takers and non-takers

Interventions aiming to simultaneously improve financial protection and quality of care may provide an important avenue towards universal health coverage. We estimate the effects of the introduction of the Kwara State Health Insurance program in Nigeria on not only the insured but also the uninsured. A subsidized voluntary low cost health insurance was offered by a private insurer as well as a quality upgrade in selected health care facilities. Using propensity score matching and panel data collected in 2009 and 2011 (n = 3509), we find that, for the insured, the program increased health care utilization (36 percent, p < 0.000) and reduced out of pocket expenditure (63 percent, p < 0.000). However, the uninsured in the area with upgraded facilities did not increase their care utilization and even spent less on health care, which is problematic given that 67 percent of the population in the treatment area did not take up the insurance. Our findings suggest that while voluntary health insurance combined with investments in health care supply can increase health care use and financial protection among those that take up the insurance, attention should be paid to potential unintended effects on the – typically sizeable– group of people who do not enroll in the insurance.

Impact of Claims Management on the Profitability of Nigerian Insurance Company: An Empirical Study of the Non-Life Insurance Sector

Claim is the largest expenses of an insurance company. Therefore, claims management is seen as an essential tool of image boosting in insurance industry. Excellence in claims handling gives an insurance company a competitive edge over its competitors. For an insurance company, claims processing is one of its core activities. It could be said to be the main reason why insurance companies are established. Managing it more effectively and efficiently, aligning it with corporate business objectives, and achieving real-time operational awareness are high priorities of an insurance company. This is because claims processing touches all part of the organization, affecting competitive positioning, customer service, fraud management, risk exposure, cost control and Information Technology infrastructure. The objective of this research therefore, is to empirically investigate the impact of claims management on the profitability of non-life insurance companies in the Nigeria insurance industry. Hypotheses were tested to find out whether claims management is significantly related to profitability of non-life insurance companies in Nigeria. The study adopts longitudinal design which follow the same sample over time and make repeated observations; hypotheses were tested using correlation analysis. The study revealed that there is a significant relationship between claims management and the operating cost of non-life insurance companies in Nigeria. However, the study revealed that there is no significant relationship between claims management and profitability of non-life insurance companies in Nigeria. It is recommended that the claims management department should be properly structured with highly technical, trained and experience staff so as to manage the claims of insurance companies properly as a well managed claim lead to profitability through repeated purchase.

Analysis of Vessel-Based Marine Accidents and the Economic Risks to Nigeria

The aim of the study is to evaluate the economic loss of vessel-based marine accidents to Nigeria and the impact on marine transport sub-sector output and/or performance. Time series data of 30 years were gathered from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) statistical bulletin, the Nigeria insurance digest, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) annual statistical report. The contribution of marine transport to the Gross Domestic Product (Y), shipping accident economic loss (X₁), economic losses of offshore oil and gas (O&G) drilling accidents (X₂), and marine oil spill accidents economic losses (X₃) were obtained and used as the explanatory (independent) variables. The data was analyzed using multiple regression method with Y as the dependent variable. The hypotheses were tested using t-test. The findings of the study indicates that shipping accidents economic losses and economic losses of offshore oil and gas drilling accidents shows significant impact on the output of the marine transport sub-sector over the period covered by the study. The model expressing the quantitative relationship between GDP_{marine transport} (Y), shipping accidents economic loss (X₁), economic loss of offshore oil and gas drilling accidents (X₂) and marine oil spill accidents loss (X₃) is: Y = 332156363.1 + 0.167X₁ + 0.837X₂ + 0.203X₃ + e. it was recommended that investment in safety policies and standards be improved with greater focus in reducing accidents induced economic losses in shipping and offshore O&G drilling maritime operations.

From Awareness to Adverse Selection: Intra-Household Allocations of Health Insurance in Nigeria

Micro health insurance is often family-based out of fear for adverse selection within households. This paper tests whether this concern is warranted, building on a unique insurance scheme in which households can opt to enroll individual family members instead of their entire family. The resulting variation in enrollment is used to test whether initial health affects who within the family is later enrolled in insurance. I show that first-time enrollment is subject to adverse selection on self-reported health, but a partnering health facility with incentives to attract a healthy risk pool fully eliminates such selective enrollment. By contrast, health measurements determine renewal but not first-time enrollment, consistent with the hypothesis that insurance coverage improves awareness of future health risks, exacerbating adverse selection over time. These findings imply that adverse selection poses a threat to individual-based program sustainability only via selective renewal.

Inequalities in Health: The Role of Health Insurance in Nigeria.

Health financing is a core necessity for sustainable healthcare delivery. Access inequalities due to financial restrictions in low-middle income countries, and in Africa especially, significantly affect disease rates and health statistics in these regions. This paper focuses on the role of a national health insurance cover as a funding medium in Nigeria, highlighting the theoretical premise of health insurance, its driving forces, key benefits and key limitations particular to the country under scrutiny. Emphasis is laid on its overall effect on the pressing public health issue of health inequality.

Effects of Training on Employees’ Productivity in Nigeria Insurance Industry

Robust employees training programme will enable business organisations to have the right set of workers with the required skills, knowledge and attitude to manage the different industries in Nigeria, as well as plan adequately and wisely to meet the challenges of skills deficiency, for the industries in the future. This research study reviews the effects of training on employees’ productivity in the insurance industry, the challenges militating against employee training in the insurance industry in Nigeria. The study evaluates key policies on insurance employee training and development, how it enhances employees’ productivity in the insurance industry. The survey research methodology was employed in this study, this enable the researchers to successfully gain greater insight on the subject and resolve unexpected issues. The findings of the study shows that in order for organisation to achieve optimum returns from her investment, there is the need to develop training programs and effectively managed training of employees’, which is the most vital asset of organisations and the dynamic of their productivity. The study concludes that the insurance industry in Nigeria as a matter of urgency should formulate policies that enshrine employees training so as to improve employees’ productivity in the industry, in order to arrest the present poor productive situation. Original Research Article Abomeh and Peace; BJEMT, 7(3): 227-235, 2015; Article no.BJEMT.2015.086 228

A survey on the participation of optometric practices in health insurance in Nigeria

Optometric services are well integrated in health insurance programs in the developed world. This study was designed to assess the level of participation of optometric practices in health insurance systems in Nigeria. By convenience, 40 optometric practices in the country were interviewed directly, or by telephone or email surveys. 24 (65%) of respondents participated in health insurance. 95% of this 24 preferred private insurance to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) because of limited optometric service provision by the NHIS. This group also reported that participation enhanced gross income earnings (95%), patient load (100%), publicity (83.3%) and credibility (20%). Major reasons given by the 16 (35%) non-participating respondents were no consideration due to lack of awareness. Optometric service provisions under the NHIS should be expanded. Optometrist should embrace Health insurance as introduction of business models and management tools into eye care delivery which will ultimately raise its benefits to everyone.