When a building collapses, fire destroys property or an accident leaves people counting their losses, news reports often focus on what happened and those affected.
But experts say another important question is frequently left unanswered: who will bear the financial cost of the loss?
Insurance professionals and media experts have challenged Nigerian journalists to make that question a regular part of their reporting, arguing that coverage of disasters and major incidents should also examine insurance protection, claims, compliance and the wider economic consequences.
The call was made in Lagos during a two day media seminar organised by Insurance Publication Limited and sponsored by the Africa Re Foundation and Africa Reinsurance Corporation.
The programme, themed ‘The Universe of Insurance and Journalism: Risk Everywhere, in Everything,’ brought together journalists, academics, insurance professionals and healthcare experts to examine how the media can help Nigerians better understand risk and insurance.
Speaking on ‘Bridging the Information Gaps and Financial Adversities,’ Professor Adepoju Tejumaiye of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, urged journalists to become ‘risk interpreters’ who explain to the public how insurance can protect individuals, businesses and government from the financial consequences of unexpected events.
Tejumaiye identified low public awareness, mistrust of insurers, complicated insurance language, poor claims experiences and weak enforcement of compulsory insurance requirements among the factors contributing to low insurance uptake.
He urged reporters covering building collapses, fires, accidents, business failures and other disasters to investigate beyond the immediate incident by asking whether the affected properties or businesses were insured, what type of cover existed, whether claims could be made and who would ultimately bear the cost of the loss.
According to him, such reporting would help Nigerians understand the practical value of insurance while also exposing weaknesses in compliance and risk management.
The concerns were echoed by Dr Femi Oyetunji, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SanlamAllianz Life Insurance Nigeria Ltd, who described the country’s insurance gap as a national resilience issue.
Oyetunji said the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act 2025 provided an opportunity to strengthen the sector through improved regulation, compulsory insurance, stronger policyholder protection and digitisation.
He, however, stressed that reforms would only achieve their intended impact if insurers provided accessible products, valid claims were settled promptly and regulatory requirements were effectively enforced.
He said Nigeria needed deeper insurance protection because development without adequate protection remained vulnerable to shocks.
The seminar also examined the growing role of technology in expanding insurance access.
Jackson Ikiebe, a Certified Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, said artificial intelligence and blockchain could help insurers reach more Nigerians through digital distribution, automated claims processing, digital onboarding and pay as you go insurance products.
He cautioned, however, that technology alone could not solve the sector’s problems, pointing to low public awareness, digital trust concerns, regulatory standards and difficulties integrating emerging technologies with existing insurance systems.
Raymond Akalonu, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Umbrella Insurance Brokers Ltd, called for a shift from what he described as a ‘relief culture’ to an insurance culture.
He argued that government bailouts following disasters often provide temporary relief while transferring the financial burden to public funds.
Akalonu urged journalists to investigate the insurance dimension of major incidents and report whether affected public and private assets were insured, how claims were handled and who ultimately paid for uninsured losses.
He said stronger media reporting could help Nigerians understand insurance as a mechanism for sustainable recovery rather than relying primarily on government intervention after disasters.
The speakers also stressed the importance of stronger enforcement of compulsory insurance requirements.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr Omogbai Omo Eboh, said government should lead by example by ensuring that its assets, infrastructure and employees were adequately insured.
He suggested that compliance with compulsory insurance requirements could be linked to licences, permits, registration and public procurement processes. He also advocated the use of technology to simplify verification of insurance policies and reduce fraud.
Beyond insurance reporting, the seminar highlighted the need for journalists to strengthen their coverage of healthcare policies and their impact on Nigerians.
Dr Augustine Aipoh, Medical Director of Olive Medicare Hospital, Lagos, urged journalists to move beyond event based healthcare reporting and examine whether government policies were achieving their intended objectives.
Aipoh said reporters should explain healthcare policies to the public, monitor implementation and investigate their impact on patients, while also verifying medical claims before publication.
Project Convener of Insurance Publication Limited, Ifeanyi Ugwuadu, and the Lead Editor of an insurance publication, Ifeanyi Uzoma, similarly urged journalists across different beats to incorporate insurance and risk into their regular reporting.
Ugwuadu said insurance should not be treated as a subject reserved for specialist correspondents because risk cuts across virtually every area of society, from transportation and construction to healthcare, agriculture, banking, manufacturing and small businesses.
He said accidents, fires, building collapses and business failures should prompt journalists to ask not only what happened but also whether adequate risk protection existed and what lessons could prevent similar financial losses in the future.
The speakers maintained that with the implementation of the NIIRA 2025 reforms, growing digital technologies and more informed media coverage, Nigeria has an opportunity to deepen insurance penetration.
They therefore called for stronger collaboration between journalists, regulators, insurers and other stakeholders to build public trust, improve understanding of insurance and encourage a culture in which Nigerians see risk protection as part of everyday economic planning rather than something considered only after disaster strikes.