Compulsory digital ID policy in Nigeria can spur insurance adoption, experts suggest

Technology and insurance policy experts in Nigerian have called for a policy making digital ID mandatory for insurance to be put in place, which they believe can drive the insurance culture in the country.

These views were exchanged recently during the second edition of a leadership webinar series, dubbed Digital Identity Matters, run by digital ID verification company VerifyMe Nigeria in partnership with tech news outlet Tech Cabal.

With a population of more than 200 million citizens, just about one percent of Nigerians are said to have an insurance plan of any form.

In different reports by Tech Cabal and This Day, the reasons for the argument are diverse, but as the experts agreed, there is the possibility of accelerating the adoption of insurance policies by Nigerians with the use of digital ID technologies like those deployed by VerifyMe Nigeria.

Speaking under the theme “Why Insurance is Important for the Growth of Nigeria’s Digital Economy,” the co-founder and CEO of VerifyMe Nigeria Esigie Aguele said there is need for such efforts to be made so that more Nigerians can subscribe to insurance to help grow the country’s digital economy, the reports mentioned.

Aguele stated that his company has the right digital identity technology to make that happen, but that there is also need for further regulations and enforcement measures to be put in place, as car insurance is supposedly compulsory for Nigerians, but held by few drivers.

Insurance contributes less than 1 percent to Nigeria’s GDP, Aguele said, compared to 17 percent in South Africa.

“For a company like VerifyMe, we have the technology and APIs, but there needs for strong regulation to close the credibility gap in the insurance market and drive compliance, even with the 1 percent who are insured. For instance, we need regulation to ensure that the right ID is matched to the right product. For vehicle insurance, we have to ensure that all motorists have proper insurance and driver’s licenses,” the VerifyMe co-founder was quoted by This Day.

This move, he sustained, will “expedite the adoption of data-as-a-product solutions that use ticketing scores to set insurance premiums….,” adding that this and other measures “…can be put in place while we continue to work on the economic issues that will change cultural perceptions to grow the market much bigger.”

Aguele spoke to Biometric Update about VerifyMe’s innovative approach to increasing identity assurance.

Article Topics

Africa  |  BFSI  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  identity verification  |  insurance  |  Nigeria  |  regulation  |  VerifyMe Nigeria