Journalists urged to report insurance beyond disasters

Nigerian journalists have been urged to make insurance and risk management a regular part of their reporting, rather than limiting coverage to disasters and major incidents after they occur.

The call was made at a two-day seminar organised by Insurance Publication Limited (IPL) and sponsored by the Africa Re Foundation/Africa Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re) in Lagos.

The seminar, themed, “The Universe of Insurance and Journalism: Risk Everywhere, in Everything,” brought together journalists and insurance industry stakeholders to deepen understanding of insurance, healthcare reporting and policy implementation.

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” by explaining how insurance can help individuals, businesses and government reduce financial losses from disasters.

Tejumaiye identified low public awareness, mistrust, complex insurance language, poor claims experience, weak enforcement of compulsory insurance laws and wider socio-economic challenges as some of the factors limiting insurance uptake in Nigeria.

He urged journalists to look beyond the immediate incident when reporting disasters and investigate the risks involved, the insurance protection available and whether affected individuals or organisations had adequate cover.

According to him, such reporting would help Nigerians better understand the practical value of insurance and also expose gaps in compliance and risk management.

Also speaking, 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.

Omo-Eboh called for stronger enforcement of compulsory insurance requirements, suggesting that compliance should be tied to licences, permits, registration and public procurement.

He also advocated the use of technology to simplify verification of insurance cover and reduce fraud.

On healthcare reporting, the Medical Director of Olive Medicare Hospital, Lagos, Dr Augustine Aipoh, urged journalists to move beyond event-based reporting and examine whether healthcare policies were achieving their intended objectives.

Aipoh said journalists should explain healthcare policies, track their implementation and examine their impact on patients.

He also urged reporters to verify facts before publishing medical claims or allegations against healthcare providers and insurers.

The Lead Editor of an insurance publication, Mr Ifeanyi Uzoma, and Project Convener of Insurance Publication Limited, Mr Ifeanyi Ugwuadu, also urged journalists across different beats to incorporate insurance and risk into their regular reporting.

Ugwuadu said accidents, building collapses, fires, business failures and other major incidents provide opportunities for journalists to investigate insurance coverage, compliance and the financial consequences of such events. He said the seminar was designed to equip journalists with the knowledge to make insurance and risk reporting part of routine news coverage, rather than leaving the subject exclusively to specialist correspondents.