Industry leaders and delegates from about 70 organisations, including technology, insurance, insurtech, and Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), converged at this prestigious event to discuss the future of insurance and technology in the country.

The conference revolved around “Unlocking policy and tech bottlenecks hindering disruptive insurance penetration.”

Here are the key takeaways from this groundbreaking event.

Collaboration for a Brighter Future

One of the standout features of IMT 2.0 was the emphasis on collaboration between underwriters and technology service providers.

The goal is to enhance customer experiences, build trust, and expand service reach across Nigeria.

This collaboration is a response to the significant increase in health insurance premiums, contributing to Nigeria’s cumulative insurance premium exceeding one trillion Naira in 2022.

The Vision of IMT

Odion Aleobua, the convener of IMT, highlighted the conference’s mission as a fusion of technology’s disruptive innovation and insurance’s wealth preservation.

IMT serves as a catalyst for Nigeria’s drive for financial inclusion, bringing together the forces of tech and insurance.

Technology’s Pivotal Role

IMT 2.0 highlighted technology’s pivotal role in the industry, particularly emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence.

These technologies have the potential to drive significant growth and financial stability.

The conference emphasised the need for infrastructure, entrepreneurship, and consumption to fuel digital transformation.

Innovations in Customer Engagement

Insurtech played a crucial role in helping the insurance industry navigate challenging times.

Panel discussions at IMT 2.0 focused on leveraging insurtech for innovative product development, customer acquisition, engagement, and retention, all essential in the ever-evolving landscape.

Call for Regulatory Support

Delegates at the conference called upon regulators to collaborate with innovators to identify barriers to innovative solutions within the industry. While advocating for stringent regulations for underwriters, they emphasised the need for tech service providers to be audacious in developing sales channel solutions that facilitate market penetration.

Health Insurance Enhancement

IMT 2.0 underscored the need to leverage digital technology and telemedicine to improve the quality of health insurance services, particularly in underserved rural areas where specialised medical services are lacking.

Innovative Micro-Insurance Initiatives

Delegates agreed that there is a need for insurtech to collaborate with partners like retailers and insurance companies to build solutions that will help meet the needs of grassroots consumers.

There is to build technological solutions that will allow insurance companies to integrate their products into platforms for enhanced penetration, leveraging third-party platforms and cross-selling strategies.

Awards of Excellence

IMT 2.0 marked a significant moment as awards were given to notable industry players, recognising excellence in various categories.

• Insurance Company of the Year: Leadway Assurance.
• Insurance and Insurtech Collaboration of the Year:  AIICO-ETAP
• Promising Product of the Year: FastClaim.
• Micro-Penetration for Financial Inclusion Award: Awabah.

More about Insurance Meets Tech (IMT)

IMT is dedicated to accelerating growth within Nigeria’s insurance and insurtech sectors.

Established in 2021, IMT made its inaugural debut in 2022. The conference brings together leaders from Africa’s finance and tech sectors to drive innovation, collaboration, and progress in the insurance industry.

With each edition, IMT continues to serve as a platform for sharing ideas, insights, and experiences in leveraging technology for insurance penetration and industry efficiency.

IMT 2.0 was a resounding success, showcasing the potential of collaboration between technology and insurance to revolutionise the sector in Nigeria.

As the industry continues to navigate challenges and embrace innovation, the future looks promising, focusing on expanding insurance coverage, improving customer experiences, and driving digital transformation.

This groundbreaking event will serve as a nexus for early-stage startups in the insurance and insurtech sectors, connecting them with potential funding partners and seasoned mentors who can catalyze their growth and innovation.

The #IMT2023 Conference, scheduled for September 28-29, 2023, is poised to become a pivotal platform in the insurance and insurtech landscape.

This partnership is designed to empower startups, providing them with the tools and resources they need to ascend to new heights.

This year’s edition of the conference will enable entrepreneurs eager to revolutionize the insurance industry or tech enthusiasts passionate about innovation by connecting them with the opportunity to connect with stakeholders to ignite their enterprise journey.

Attendees will also have the exclusive possibility to glean invaluable insights from leaders of prominent organizations, including Microsoft, Casava Insurance, Leadway, AIICO, and many more, who will lead discourses, make insightful presentations, interrogate case studies and showcase demos on innovative solutions.

These industry trailblazers will share their knowledge, experiences, and visions for the future, providing a unique learning experience that attendees won’t find anywhere else.

David Lanre Messan, the visionary founder of FirstFounders, expressed his enthusiasm for the event, stating, “Our collaboration with Insurance Meets Tech represents a tremendous opportunity for early-stage startups to access the support they need to thrive. Together, we are fostering innovation, entrepreneurship, and growth within the insurtech and insurance ecosystem.”

Odion Aleobua, the convener of IMT, echoed these sentiments, saying, “At #IMT2023, we are bringing together the brightest minds in insurance and technology to drive innovation, collaboration, and disruption. We invite startups, investors, and industry leaders to join us in shaping the future of insurance technology.”

With delegates from over 50 leading insurance and tech organizations confirmed to attend, #IMT2023 is on track to become the premier event for fostering connections, knowledge sharing, and transformation within the insurance and insurtech sectors.

Don’t miss your chance to be part of this historic event. Secure your seat at the Insurance Meets Tech Conference #IMT2023 today by visiting here.

Early registration is encouraged, as spaces are limited, and demand is high.

The stage is set for the most significant convergence of insurance, insurtech, regulators and tech stakeholders in West Africa as leading tech and insurance brands – such as Microsoft, Leadway Assurance Company Limited, aYo Nigeria, and Old Mutual have been onboarded as sponsors, while partnership discussions are advancing to onboard more brands and organisations ahead of the eagerly anticipated INSURANCE MEETS TECH (IMT) Conference.

This prestigious event is poised to take place over two days, featuring influential speakers, live demonstrations, masterclasses, and unparalleled networking opportunities.

The conference is scheduled to be held at the Civic Centre, Ozumba Mbadiwe, Victoria Island, Lagos, drawing in over 3000 participants, including industry leaders, tech innovators, thought pioneers, and policy influencers.

From September 28 to September 29, 2023, the venue will come alive with insightful discussions, groundbreaking product showcases, and an electrifying collaborative learning atmosphere.

Odion Aleobua, the Convener of INSURANCE MEETS TECH (IMT), expressed his excitement about the monumental collaboration of these industry giants. He stated, “We are thrilled to have Microsoft, Leadway, aYo Nigeria, and Old Mutual already as our esteemed sponsors for this year’s event. Their participation underscores the growing importance of the convergence with technology in revolutionising Nigeria’s insurance landscape. This conference is a unique platform that brings together visionaries, experts, and enthusiasts to chart the future course of insurance and insurtech in West Africa.“

With more than 50 distinguished speakers, 20 live demos, and insightful masterclasses, attendees can anticipate a transformative experience. The event will showcase cutting-edge insights and innovations at the intersection of insurance and technology. Power-packed plenary sessions, captivating waterfront exhibitions, VIP networking lounges, and innovation hubs will provide an all-encompassing journey through the evolving landscape of the insurance industry.

This year, INSURANCE MEETS TECH (IMT) aims to foster collaboration, inspire innovation, and facilitate dynamic discussions that will shape the future of insurance and insurtech in the region. Attendees can register for the event by visiting here  and securing their spot at this transformative movement’s forefront.

Meanwhile, already confirmed Official Media Partners for this year’s edition of INSURANCE MEETS TECH (IMT) are Nigeria’s leading financial newspaper, BusinessDay; Techeconomy, Nairametrics and Techpoint Africa.

Technology as we know is a man-made object or better defined as a series of processes designed to assist mankind, which is in no doubt a complimentary addition to the business of insurance.

According to Mckinsey & Co., in his 2022 report on creating value, finding focus and global insurance, the insurance industry was still inbound in premiums in 2021. Following the slowdown in 2020, global insurance lost premiums of about $6 billion in 2021.

It also emphasises the ongoing fight for the customer, with insurtech driving digital innovation and disruption in the industry, with investment in insurtech worldwide growing from $1 billion in 2004, to $7.2 billion in 2019 and $14.6 billion in 2021.

It is important to know that over 40% of the insurtechs are focused on the marketing and distribution segment of the insurance value chain.

Bancassurance

Bancassurance describes an authorised relationship in collaboration between a bank and an insurance company. The insurance company uses the bank’s distribution channels to sell its products, and banks in turn receive a fee from the insurance company.

This collaboration is a good association as it is mutually beneficial to both parties. When CBN ended the universal banking system in Nigeria, banks were constantly in search of complementary solutions to enhance their core earnings. 

Bancassurance was therefore one of those solutions. The banking system in Nigeria has evolved from analogue-based with transactions processed manually, to digitisation. Transactions are now being processed at the fingertips of customers with the advent of modern technology.

The insurance industry in the space cannot and should not accept being left behind. With the evolution of the digitisation era, Ecobank invested in technology infrastructure to power our financial services business. Today we run a one-bank single pan-African platform across our 33 affiliates, giving us the edge to provide a variety of payment services in-country and across borders.

Our universal corporate electronic platform, which we call Ecobank OmniPlus, is a secure electronic banking channel, which provides our corporate banking single process for transacting and reporting needs, with real-time global account access and customisable setup features.

Our clients have control over their financial functions and keep track of receipt, payment and liquidity, all with one secure global solution.

An important feature of this platform is that it is a multi-geography, multi-language and multi-currency platform, allowing customers have single access to all their accounts, in all the affiliates and counties where Ecobank is present. 

One other feature beneficial to insurance clients is the Internal Direct Demi Condo. The module allows insurance companies to pull recurring payments from their customers’ Ecobank accounts, based on some defined criteria or policy.

Other electronic channels like the mobile app, Omni Lite, online banking platform for SMEs and commercial banking retails, USSD, etc, we can integrate insurance companies, outlining some policy collections from their customers, using unique identifiers and policy codes.

Various entities can collaborate with Ecobank via an API. We have collaborated with many corporate bodies and are ready for more partnerships.

In her submission, Ola Williams, Country Manager, Microsoft believes that while the global players have been a lot more aggressive in this area of creating capabilities to build a kind of file automation for passive management, automation associated with heavy transaction processes on both the customers’ side, and the policy managers’ side.

“In our region, this has not been the case; not for a lack of intent from the insurance providers but more of a misalignment between those who provide the main insurance services and those who provide technology services.

“There has never been a focus effort to co-invent, co-build and co-innovate”, she said.

Jonah Adams, Managing Director, Interswitch Systegra, said the industry reminds him of where retail banking was in 2002.

“The insurance market is fragmented, not operating at scale and lacks collaboration internally and eternally.

“The market is ripe for intervention, but the question is, what type of intervention is necessary at this time to begin to make the market operate at scale?

“One of the things that a lot of people don’t realise is that when you’re trying to intervene in an industry or market, either the regulator, private sector, or someone that has an interest in the market needs to deliberately make the effort to build a core system that enables that industry to thrive.

“When you look at what is going on in the insurance space, in Nigeria and across Africa, fundamentally, what is missing is that core infrastructure that allows everybody to talk to each other, interact and allow outside players such as fintechs, banks and others, to collaborate with that industry.

“If the market size is about 68 billion, it means someone or a group of people need to take 10% of that potential opportunity and invest in that market”.

According to Adams, the language across the industry needs to be standardised. There must be standardisation around distribution, access, and collaboration to allow people that operate at the periphery to innovate and thrive.

Samuel Ogbu, Group CEO, Old MutualWest, Africa also shared his views thus:

Talking about collaboration, partnerships and ecosystems, we are recognising that we have a common interest in solving problems like any other industry, delivering outstanding customer value.

In getting there, we need to give a lot of value to our partners, the business itself, capital providers, the society and community at large to protect our franchise to operate with.

Fundamentally, the problems have changed, the way they need to be addressed, the way people perceive those problems and the way customers receive those problems have changed. Innovation and technology can help us do two things:

• A process of evolution
• A process of revolution

Evolution is about doing things better. With existing promises that we need to deliver on. We need speed, efficiency, effectiveness because time has moved on, expectations have changed, what was found yesterday is not found today.

The question we all should have in mind is: how can I face the future with greater financial confidence? How can I mitigate risk and solve problems? How can I make better decisions?

In the evolution of that, innovation and technology has a big part to play in helping us be faster, more effective and also helping us know how big the market is.

The second is Revolution. For me, it’s the creation of wealth.

The world that I’ve lived in says I have to be part of an average; how can you make me feel special? How can you sell me user-based insurance? These information come from data and knowing the behaviour of clients. So, partnership is important.

We shouldn’t try to compete, we should collaborate.

Sola Ajayi, Executive Head of Sales, Leadway Assurance had these to say:

If you take a look at the history of the insurance industry, you’d find that in most countries where the industry has had a leap, there are factors involved:

• Situations where there are significant catastrophic impact
• Government regulations

In Nigeria, one of the key issues we have in the economy at this point is the economic situation itself. The customers need to be able to afford insurance.

There’s room for growth but insurance fundamentally requires the big players to collaborate with those who are bringing the needed skill to the table.

We need to be able to understand exactly what the customers need. If the customers see value, they will shove out cash.

The reality is that people are not buying insurance as much as we would like them to, not because they are ignorant or can’t get it. The question we need to address is; why do we not have it?

Mayowa Owolabi, CEO, PaddyCover

Focusing on what has been done to tackle the low penetration of insurance, Mayowa Owolabi, CEO, PaddyCover said:

The key thing in insurance is that not everybody wants it, not everybody wants to buy it because of our spiritual mindset especially in Nigeria, no one wants to bring out money.

What we’ve done to bridge this gap is that we are working with industries, stakeholders and regulators to make insurance more affordable, pushing in market education, insurance benefits and ease of payment.

TechEconomy.ng was the official media partner of #IMT2022 | Insurance Meets Tech

Data has become a source of wealth and power. Organisations that have data have a lot of power in their hands.

In the context of conversation today, data has become a key disruptive factor that organisations leverage to gain competitive advantage.

Ola Williams, the Country Manager, Microsoft Nigeria, made further submissions while speaking at Insurance Meets Tech Conference held on Thursday, September 29 2022 in Lagos:

Combined with cloud and innovation, data can actually be a game changer in any business and much more so, in insurance today. 

When we look at leveraging the cloud, cloud drives data innovation and gives organisations the ability to gain a lot of insight that would otherwise not be visible to the ordinary eyes.

When you put your data in an aggregated manner, with the right tools, it would give you detailed reporting of what data signifies.

Taking insurance in a literal context

Insurance is the transfer of risk from one entity to another. That means the insurer collects data from the insured, people that have different products with you. That gives you a lot of insights about the behaviours and preferences of your customers. 

So leveraging big data to see the pattern in which an organisation or individual is gaining claims can help you to customise products and services that are relevant to that organisation.

We can leverage data to:

• Gain competitive advantage;
• Provide differentiated offerings to customers
• Engage customers in a more meaningful way that is relevant to them, etc

With all the possibilities, why is there still very slow adoption of insurance?

There are different factors:

1. Regulatory factor

When we look at regulation from a vicinity point of view, then that limits our ability to drive creativity and innovation.

But when you look at innovation from the point of view of how we ensure that we are taking the right steps, the right resources and the right processes to ensure that the capabilities we have today will be able to leverage them effectively, that is a strategy that organisations need to look at.

How do we continue to innovate even within the guidelines of the regulatory authorities and policies in place?

2. Access to technology 

We see access to technology not only in terms of purchasing power, but also, when technology is deployed within the organisation, that is not the end, we have to look at culture, people and processes.

When we have technology without the right people in place, the right culture to adopt the technology and the right processes within the organisation, then that would reduce the ability for the organisation to leverage technology.

For example, an organisation invests a lot of money into technology and they are not seeing results, the issue is not that the technology is not working but probably and most times, the commensurate culture, processes and procedures to make sure that the technology works and ensure the benefits of the business, are not in alignment.

3. Access to talent 

There’s the need to have the right skillset within the organisation that would help to ensure that technology investment is put to good use.

Talent is not just having brilliant set of people, there’s the need for organisations to be deliberate about skilling and re-skilling because technology also evolves and moves at a high speed.

To see the results of technology, the right talent should be attracted and a proper plan put in place to ensure that talents are skilled regularly to adequately utilise the technology investment within the organisation.

When we talk about regulation, regulators and how much we adopt technology, which do you prefer: a retrofit or disruption?

There’s no magic bullet actually, it’s really different from scenarios and the phase that an organisation is in adopting technology. There are organisations that are just starting, it depends on the trends and the drivers within the industry. 

We see some insurance companies that are investing in insurtech now because they need a place to compete with borne-in-the-cloud competition, and we see insurance companies that are just waiting to see how it goes.

So, for insurance companies that are borne in the cloud, they are just disruptive, that’s a distraction but for organisations that have legacy solutions, legacy customer engagement, policies, procedures and regulations, they need to have a blend of disruptive approach as well as retrofit because you don’t want to destroy what you already have. It’s a journey and we need to take on that journey.

It’s important to partner with organisations like Microsoft because we have what we call industry cloud. Today we are invested heavily in bringing in people with industry expertise into our organisation.

Based on our experience working with multiple organisations within the financial services sector where there’s insurance, banking and others, we have worked with several cloud owners and programs. So it is important to have a partner that will work with you to scale your organization and not bring it down.

Insurance Meets Tech Conference 2022 is a multi-sector discourse platform that converges leaders in the insurance and tech industries to foster strategic partnerships hinged on technological innovations and the deepening of Nigeria’s insurance penetration.  

Insurance Meets Tech 2022, which holds at Ecobank’s pan-African Center at Ozumba Mbadiwe, Lagos, is designed to evolve a marketplace of not only public and private sector players but also to showcase ideas, innovations, and policies that can be pivotal in advancing the business of insurance in Africa.

It will be a one-of-its-kind summit, highlighting the issues in product development, access improvement, process optimisation, payment and reconciliations, customer services delivery, and engagement whilst showcasing various tech solutions to attract potential stakeholders across the ecosystem. 

Impressively, Insurance Meets Tech 2022 has already been favourably received by leading players in Nigeria’s insurance, finance, and tech ecosystems, with top executives such as the Managing Director, Ecobank, Jubril Mobolaji Lawal; Group Chief Executive Officer, aYo Holdings Ltd (South Africa), Marius Botha; Country Manager, Microsoft Nigeria, Ola Williams; CEO, AXA Mansard, Kunle Ahmed; CEO, ETAP, Ibraheem Babalola; Managing Director Endeavor Nigeria, Tosin Faniro Dada; Founder & CEO, Caladium Consulting, Ayo Bankole Akintujoye, amongst others, confirmed their participation.  

Speaking on the significance of this conference, the Convener, Odion Aleobua, Chief Executive Officer, Modion Communications, expressed optimism about the impact of the conference, citing that it enables industry leaders in insurance and tech to much-needed collaborative deliberations aimed at bolstering the Nigerian insurance ecosystem and deepening its penetration.  

“Nigeria’s insurance industry is ranked 62nd globally, a figure in extreme contrast with the nation’s population and economic size. As a result, the unfortunate reality of insurance in Nigeria is that its penetration rate is so low that less than 2% of all Nigerian adults, which only amounts to 4 million of its total population, have insurance coverage. 

“Having consulted for the insurance industry for over the last decade, we understand that the low uptake of insurance in Nigeria can be disrupted through technological innovation that will bolster access, customer engagement, customer onboarding and convenient adoption of insurance policies in the country.  

“This is where the incorporation of tech and insurance comes to play. We believe that just as there has been a disruptive turnaround in enabling access to banking services, through the exponential growth in digital technology and mobile telephony in Nigeria, with fintech enabling financial inclusion, insurtech can do the same for insurance. It is on this conviction that we built the rationale for convening Insurance Meets Tech 2022 conference”, he added.   

Insurance Meets Tech 2022 is expected to feature a special presentation from Microsoft Nigeria to the industry, while the Group Chief Executive Officer, aYo Holdings Ltd (South Africa), Marius Botha, whose organisation has presence in five African countries, will share learnings on how tech has enabled their growth and adoption across the continent.