Marketing Of Life Assurance Policies , Problems And Prospects

1.1 INTRODUCTION
In Nigeria, the issue of taking life assurance has been neglected, in the sense that at this present time, it is estimated that not up to two percent of Nigerians own life assurance policies. For this fact, the benefits and roles life assurance plays in this country is being viewed from a very cooked point thereby making it slightly visible. Moreover the life assurance industry has entered an era of accelerated changes as a result of increased competition in products and pricing within all insurance sectors. Hence professional marketing management is now pre-requisite, if a company is to return or advance its position in the competition hierarchy.

1.2 HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF LIFE ASSURANCE IN NIGERIA
In life assurance programs, funds are accumulated though payments made by the assured persons called premium so that, should death occur, prior to a specified date or upon survival at an agreed period funds would be made available from the scheme to pay whatever benefits that are due.
The idea of assistance and association is not new to the Nigerian society. Various town and clan unions and social clubs, have various ways of showing benevolence to their bereaved number as discussed in earlier. It is customary for people to pay condolence visit and present as sympathy purse. These practices are similar to mutual life assurance.
However, life assurance as practiced today is part of the nation’s colonial heritage.
Obviously, the British introduced life assurance into Nigeria; hence the practice closely follows the British pattern.
The earliest colonial insurance interest in Nigeria was directed to general insurance of goods and cargo.
Few life businesses which trickled in were referred to British Home offices in London for processing. Only the affluent could afforded then because it was considered as enormous risk to insure person living in the topics and the cost of providing such life cover was very expensive and uneconomical.
With independence in 1960, life assurance started to change. African Alliance Assurance Company was incorporated as a joint venture between Nigerians and expatiates. It therefore became the first like specialist under write. Within the same period, the Nigerian universities management consultant indicated the development management consultant indicated the development of group life and pensions scheme in Nigeria. Before 1960, many Nigerians shunned the idea of effecting life assurance cover. They felt generally that the insurance agents were wishing them bade luck premature death and therefore would never have anything to do with insurance and their agents of death. Since then amazingly life assurance premium has grown from N25.2 million in 1925 to about N165.3 million in 1984.

1.3 THE NEED FOR LIFE ASSURANCE POLICY
Life offices advertise a wide variety of assurance contracts. Before choosing the kind of cover of take, the intending assured should first sit down and analyzes his needs. Life assurance has been said to be for those who live too long and those who die too soon. The needs of people in both categories can be met. Most salary earners and wage earners have other people dependent on them or likely to have such dependents some point in their lives. It may be parents, wife, child or even brothers and sisters.
Anyone with dependents is wise to ask himself what income his dependants will have if death should put an untimely and to his own salary payments. Even when allowances are made for nay existing capital resources and payments under national insurance or staff widows schemes where they exist the average man will find that his dependants are going to have seen tem enjoy. This means that his wife or mother will have to take up outside work again in her later years or that his children will be forced to forgo the higher education he had planned. In modern conditions, it is difficult to accumulate capital out to income because of high taxation and many men leave their wives nothing but a heavily mortgaged house and perhaps a few pounds of life assurance.
In one sense nobody lives too long but if is true that many survive after they have ceased to be capable of earning a living. Many others too do not want to be forced to go on working until an age went it is too late for them to enjoy their retirement and perhaps take up new interests. Some people for example single working women may have no one on whom to depend. It is all the more important for these to make provision for their later years. Here endowment assurance is particularly useful as with its aid they will be able to provide in their own life time a capital sum that can be used to buy a house or create an income for themselves.

1.4 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
It is estimated that not up to two percent Nigerians own life assurance cover. T he potentials for growth is therefore not great. The problem of payment of benefits, lack of statistics, inability by underwriter to design policies which will meet their current changes in society, religions, liberalism, social clubs and the effect of insurance image in Nigeria all have contributed to the problems which tends to impede the rapid development of life assurance in the Nigeria society.
Again, the low demand for life assurance policy could be attributed to lack of public awareness, poor education and inappropriate marketing strategies.

1.5 OBJECTIVE/PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
In whatever one does he/she must have something in mind for during that very thing so this project work is no exception? The objective of the study is as follows
1. To create awareness of life assurance awareness to the insuring public.
2. To help the insuring public on the type of life assurance policy that will be of benefit to them.
3. To identify how insurers settle claims life offices.
4. To educate the insuring public about life assurance policies.
5. To help the intermediaries on effective marketing of life assurance.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
The study of the problems facing marketing of life assurance companies is significant in many ways, especially to the insurers, the life assurance intermediary and the insuring public.
Hence at the end of this study the insurers and the life assurance intermediaries will be able to identify the problem militating against effective marketing of life policy in the society. The study is also meant to highlight the need for adequate sales promotion methods advertising principle and understanding of the life assurance policy.
Finally, it point out the need for markets in the life assurance industry to appreciate the concept, strategies and application of marketing as a spring board for growth and also the need for them to work with actuaries on the life policies to specific target markets.

1.7 SCOPE OF STUDY AND LIMITATIONS
Although this study is set out to cover the entire insurance industries in Nigeria, constraint of time and money prevented me from visiting all the states of the federation.
Hence the study was carried out in a particular sector of Enugu State capital Enugu.

1.8 LIMITATION
Many problems were encountered during the study of this write up. For instance, some people were not willing to help especially through the interview methods. They always complained that they have no time.
Not only that, the short time allocated to the project and the programme of the semester work hinder my appreciate research of the project and also the semste4r work which had to go along at the some time when lectures will be going on to hinder the smooth running of the study.