Amaka Obiefuna

Coronation Insurance has taken measures to increase growth for minor, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by offering adequate insurance protection for businesses with its webinar that points entrepreneurs to insurance embrace for risks.

Attendees of the joint event by Coronation Insurance Plc and Coronation Life Assurance Limited were welcomed by the managing director at Coronation Insurance Plc, Olamide Olajolo that the webinars “is part of the company’s thought leadership initiatives which is designed to provide relevant insights for both corporate and individual clients across various sectors of the economy.”

Olajolo while setting the theme of the webinar, “Importance of Insurance for SMEs: Insurance Requirement for a Growing Business,” noted that the past three years had been marked by uncertainties and the uncertainties of the business environment has underlined the importance of insurance protection for business risks at the adequate level to help businesses to grow.

Riding on the charge by the CEO of Coronation Insurance Plc, the keynote speaker, Gbenga Ismail, vice president, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said insurance is a transformation instrument for all businesses and in the present focus, the MSMEs, to sustain their businesses. He maintained that transformation would elude this segment of the economy that sustains 96% of business activities if insurance protection is avoided. He reassured that those that would be transformed need insurance to sustain business growth.

Pointing out that SMEs are very vulnerable and would therefore require adequate insurance more so in an environment where there is very little cushion by government policies for uncertainties. Therefore without insurance protection businesses are vulnerable. Ismail without a blink informed the participants that business that is well covered is a step ahead of most business.

He used the business information insurance cover that was incepted by the organisers of Wimbledon Tennis in 2003 to buttress the importance of insurance to businesses. He said the insurance covered the scare of sars and followed it every year, with a premium £1.5 million covering event cancellation. When in 2020 Wimbledon was cancelled, the organisers were paid 114 euros by their insurers for event cancellation.

He also charged entrepreneurs to use insurance to mitigate business risks, engage insurance brokers and also use insurance secured insurance protection to enhance access to bank loans.

To the insurance industry, the Lagos Chamber vice president charged them to reposition their offer to the SMEs, offer seamless service that is powered by digital processes. Besides, he said insurance operators must operate at a level where the SMEs could trust their service and let the buyer know the level of protection for their risks at all times.

The Chief Executive Officer, Coronation Life Assurance Limited, Akinlolu Akinleye, profusely appreciated the guest speaker, Gbenga Ismail, and other panelist at the webinar, the Executive Director, technical operations, Coronation Life Assurance Limited, Louis Alozie, Country Manager, Workpay and, Ayo Olojede, Group Head, Emerging Business Africa, Access Bank Plc