PUBLIC RELATIONS STRATEGIES FOR ENHANCING THE IMAGE OF INSURANCE COMPANIES IN IMO STATE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of the Study

A study of insurance history reveals that insurance practice arose from the need to protect against certain perils at each stage of human development. A contract of insurance in the widest sense of the term may be defined as a contract whereby one person called the insurer, undertake in return for an agreed consideration called the premium to pay to another person called the insured, a sum of money or its equivalent on the happening of a specified event. Where the payment of the money or other benefits is discretionary, the contract is not one of insurance (Ivamy 1979).

The practitioners and buyers of insurance agree to transact the business out of the recognition of the mutual benefits the two parties derive from the practice. Insurance from certain points of view is a peak accomplishment in the long series of organizational mechanism to which men have devoted their creative talents down through centuries of social evolution (Hansel 1974). Insurance is designed to serve the individual in the society where each member is presumed to be economically self-reliant. The insuring public and insurers operate with some degree of risk in the absence of statistical data on which to base premiums and, lack of past performances from the insurers. Insurers constantly monitor the security needs of the society and seek ways and means by which insurance cover can be arranged and to provide protection for those needs without endangering their own security.

In the process of providing security for the insuring public, some secondary roles develop which eventually enhanced the practice and development of insurance in the world. Some of these functions include: Risk management or the analysis and control of risk, the encouragement and promotion of business enterprises through the investment of insurance premiums. For example, The contribution of the insurance industry to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has risen by as much as 40 per cent over the last two years; going up from 0.5 per cent in 2011 to 0.7 per cent in 2013.

The Managing Director of Leverage Insurance Brokers Limited, Hon. LanreLaoshe, affirmed this in a recent presentation showcasing the industry at an investors’ forum in Lagos. In the paper titled, ‘A Brief on the Nigerian Insurance Market’, he said the Nigerian insurance industry has continued to grow with the number of policyholders rising from 0.5 million in 2011 to 1.5 million by the end of last year ( NnamdiDuru 2013).

By offering financial security to individuals and corporate organizations, the insurance industry encourages and promotes development. Majority of large scale projects embarked upon in the country today are made possible because of the availability of insurance cover.

In addition to the above, the assurance of compensation in the event of a loss provides security and peace of mind so that management time can be devoted to productive ventures without which there cannot be any substantial progress. In Nigeria, insurance business in its modern practice started in 1921 with the establishment of a branch of the Royal Exchange Assurance. The British insurers had appointed agents to represent their interest in Nigeria. These agencies later gave way to full branches representing various insurers from United Kingdom. Private Nigerian investor who ventured into insurance business later could not compete effectively with those foreign owner companies due to various reasons of which include inadequate capital base, lack of requisite technical knowledge and non-provision of proper training facilities among others.

An image is synthetic; it is planned created especially to serve a purpose, to make a certain kind of impression. “A person’s image is) “a visible public personality as distinguished from an inward private character.

The public image of the industry was not very encouraging mainly due to the fraudulent practice of certain insurance practitioners and the inability of the average individual to comprehend the intricacies of insurance practice. Today some people are still skeptical about the willingness and ability of Nigerian insurers to meet its contractual obligations in the event of a loss. The image problem in the Nigerian insurance industry cannot be effectively tackled without adequately understanding the source of the problem. A good diagnosis of the ailment would provide the knowledge required to guide any action aimed at solving the problem. Peter M. Latam, the great philosopher who lived between 1789 and 1875 is of the opinion that the diagnosis of a disease is often difficult and impossible but we should always presume the disease to be curable until its own nature proves it otherwise (Ogunkanmi 1992). Certainly, the image problem of the insurance industry is curable. To this end, the study is set out to examine public relations strategies for enhancing the image of insurance companies in Imo State.

1.2. Statement of the Problems

In Nigeria, as old as the insurance industry is, public attitude to insurance and its practitioners is one of suspicion, very often manifested in outright distrust of what insurers do? But for the fact that some classes of insurance are made compulsory by law, very few Nigerians would have nothing to do with insurance companies. This is a dangerous disposition to the industry by the public such that a hitherto careless industry has of late realized its complications to the health of its members and by extension; the entire industry if not that some has begun implementing some counter measures.

Improving the image of the industry has become a marketing imperative considering, the significance of the issue of enhancing the public image of insurance with the likely background of an unpredictable economic, social, cultural, political, legal, and marketing setting within which managers may be forced to make certain decisions. Now there is an urgent need to promote insurance awareness through Public Relations strategies and to eliminate some of the common misunderstandings and conceptions about the purpose and functions of insurance which generally contribute to the real and imagined poor public image of the insurance industry. The Nigerian public distrust of insurance companies for being quick to collect premiums and slow in paying claims seems to be an erroneous impression created by the communication gap between the insurer and the insured (ldigo, 1991). The lack luster performance of the industry in Nigeria as a whole and in Imo State in particular confirms the failure of these organizations.

1.3 Objectives of the study

The following are, therefore, the specific objectives.

1 To ascertain the level of insurance awareness in Imo State

2 To determine the intensity of demand for insurance in Imo State.

3 To identify the effect of poor image of insurance companies in Imo State.

4 To identify the public relations strategies for enhancing the insurance image in Imo State.

1.4 Research Questions

1. What is the level of insurance awareness in Imo State

2. What is the intensity of demand for insurance in Imo State?

3. What are the effects of tarnished image of insurance companies in Imo State?

4. What are the public relations Strategies for enhancing insurance image in Imo State?

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1.5 Research Hypothesis

1. There is no significant low level of insurance awareness in Imo State

2. There is no significance low intensity of demand for insurance patronage in Imo State

3. There is no significant effect of good image for Insurance Companies in Imo State.

4. Public relations strategies will not significantly enhance the image of insurance companies in Imo State

1.6 Significance of the Study

The study explores the public relations strategies for enhancing-the image of Insurance industries the image of insurance industries in Imo State. The study will therefore be significant in these ways:

Practically it will aid the insurance companies to know the best strategy to use in enhancing their image in Nigeria; it will also be helpful to policy makers and administrators in policy formulation and implementation as it relates to the Insurance industry. Theoretically, the study will add and contribute the existing literature on insurance industry and ways of making it come alive again in Nigeria. It would be of particular importance to public relations experts, insurance practitioners and students especially in marketing and business administration.

1.7 Scope and limitations of the study

This study focused on public relation strategies for enhancing the image of insurance industry particularly in Imo State. It would have been a nice idea to sample the opinions of across population and public relations practitioners in all the major cities of Nigeria to have a through representation but time, money and assisting personnel were certainly the major encumbrances.

At the same, frantic efforts were made to sample respondent that cut across the two respondents (general public and public relations practitioners), from all indications, not much study have been conducted or shed in this area. By implication, there were inadequate secondary sources. Thus data from primary source were used to make – up for needed information.

Similarly, there was the palpable fear of not likely getting the right from some respondents who may resort to parrying some questions in order to hide some certain information or to inflate theirs. Also, the return of all answered (treated) questionnaires could not be realistic due to the unusual attitude of some respondents. That notwithstanding, adequate care was taken to ensure that the basic formation was acquired.

1.8 Operational Definition of Terms.

PUBLIC RELATIONS: Public relations consists of all forms of planned communications outward and inward between an organization and its publics for the purpose of achieving specific objectives concerning mutual understanding.

IMAGE: Image is the totality of all impressions that an organization makes on all its audiences.

INSURANCE: insurance is defined as a contract under which the insurer agrees to provide compensation to the insured in the event of a specified occurrence e.g loss or damage to property in return, the insured pays the insurer a premium usually at fixed intervals. The insurers’ estimate of the probability that the event insured against will actually take place.