The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) says  insurance companies in Nigeria have a lot to gain from the increase in world’s population now peaking at 8 billion .

“The world we live in is full of uncertainties and risks. Individuals, families, businesses, properties and assets are exposed to different types and levels of risks and all will be insured if insurers truly get it right, ” said NAICOM’s Deputy Director, Communication and Market Development, Mr. AbdulRasaaq Salami.

Fielding questions from patomabusinessonline.com ,  on what opportunities the increase in world’s population holds for the local insurance players,  he said that

the insurance sector has a lot to gain from it especially, the life insurance companies.

His words : ” The increase in population is a blessing to the insurance industry;  it’s a huge potential to enable insurance growth but the players particularly, life operators must be ready to take advantage and harness the enormous benefits.”

He said that it’s expected that a serious operator desirous of taking advantage of the increasing population would study and analyse the population to identify the demographics.

 He added, “Having done this, you will now be able to determine which of the segments suits your company and then channel your energy accordingly.”

Salami acknowledged that there are products in the market that best suit variety of the population yet beyond having the products, he noted that the operators still need to get closer to the customers.

“several life insurance products including annuity, are currently available in the Nigerian market for consumers. As good as these products look, I think the industry should go beyond this and perhaps get personal with consumers to understand their specific need, ” he said.

He added that apart from protecting individuals and businesses from many kinds of potential risks, the Insurance sector contributes significantly to the general economic growth of the nation by providing stability to the functioning of businesses and

and generating long-term financial resources for the industrial projects.

“Understanding  and identifying the specific needs of the prospective consumers would mean developing specific products tailored towards meeting the identified needs.

“This approach makes marketing of the products easier and thus, guarantees higher patronage which in the long run will impact the growth of not just individual companies but the entire industry.”

Meanwhile, the UN reported that globally, the population increased from 1billion in 1804 to 2 billion in 1927; increase to 3 billion in 1959, to 4 billion in 1974 to 5 billion in 1987 increase further to 6 billion in 1998 to 7 billion in 2011 and has now reached 8billion on November 15, 2022.

The world population is expected to move to 8.5billion in 2030, 9.7billon in 2050 and 10.4billion in 2100.

Of the world population, China has the world’s largest population (1.426 billion), but India (1.417 billion) is expected to claim this title next year. The next five most populous nations:- the United States, 332,073,000; Indonesia, 274,312,000; Pakistan, 232,665,000; Nigeria, 213,560,000 and Brazil, 214,421,000 together have fewer people than India or China.

These include risk of losses of life, health, assets, property, etc. While it is not always possible to prevent unwanted events from occurring, financial world has developed products that protect individuals and businesses against such losses by compensating them with financial resources. Insurance is a financial product that reduces or eliminates the cost of loss or effect of loss caused by different types of risks.

Globally, life expectancy reached 72.8 years in 2019, up almost nine years since 1990. Further reductions in mortality are projected to result in an average longevity of around 77.2 years globally in 2050. In 2020, the global population growth rate fell under 1% per year for the first time since 1950.

Life expectancy at birth for women in 2019 exceeded that for men by 5.4 years globally, with female and male life expectancies of 73.8 and 68.4, respectively. “A female survival advantage is observed in all regions and countries, ranging from 7 years in Latin America and the Caribbean to 2.9 years in Australia and New Zealand,” notes the UN report.