I once sold insurance products. It was not an easy thing to sell. In fact, selling anything is not easy especially in Nigeria.

I remembered one very hot after, dressed in an impeccable suit and carrying one very old backpack that seemed to ruin my attire, I went to sell Insurance in Computer Village, Ikeja. I always avoided the large and busy stores so that when they disgrace me and send me away, I won’t have so many eyes on me.

So I went to this quiet store around a corner and said “anybody here” with a timidity and shyness that was almost suffocating and I saw the excitement and smile with which the owner of the store raised his head from the account book or something he was poring over and asked. “What do you want?”

It seemed he had to deal with my type every day because the smile on his face vanished once he saw my dressing and he went back poring over his books. Then he said: “You better get out of this place. It’s too early.” It was around 12 pm.

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I think that was the beginning of the end of my inroads into selling insurance.

There are some insurance sellers who have experienced worse inhuman treatment in their quest to meet ends need.

I came to understand that as a people, we have a great aversion for insurance.

I mean why will we want to buy insurance products when there’s God. What other possible insurance does one need. Is there any insurance bigger, better and more effective? This was the kind of questions I got in my short-lived years in the Insurance services industry. Even when they didn’t tell it to your face, you could see it in their faces and in their eyes.

Some of us feel that buying insurance is questioning God’s ability to protect us from everyday disaster and therefore they are unwilling to ask such questions before they draw the wrath of God upon them.

So the great question is, has it stopped things from happening?

Things have been happening since time immemorial and will continue to happen. There’s nothing we can do about that. They’re all part of the natural order of things.

It’s only left for you to decide and protect yourselves where necessary. You never know.

What is Insurance and How can it Help You?

Let’s say you own a truck. Though you have other sources of income but this truck is your major one, one which if anything happens to, it will reduce your standard of living. To be able to keep up with your standard of living in case of any eventuality so you won’t have to beg your neighbour for some money or one of your annoying uncles, you take out an insurance policy to protect that truck. If anything happens to your truck: accident or it burns down or it’s stolen, the insurance company will replace it for you.

Insurance protects you from financial risks. Depending on what policy you buy or what is more important to you, insurance help dampen the effect of any financial risk. It protects you when things go wrong and we all know that when things want to happen, it doesn’t give warning.

But on the other hand buying insurance doesn’t stop things from going wrong. So why on earth will you want to do it?

Just Do it for Your Loved Ones

If nothing else motivates you to protect yourself, then do it for your loved ones. Look at those little ones probably raiding your home right now and turning everything upside down and ask yourself ‘what will be their fate if anything happens to you or to your business?’

And what will be the fate of your spouse?

A lot of relationships has hit a wall because of financial ruins. You just have to protect yourself or face the risk of one day not giving your family the kind of life they deserve or the kind of life you want them to have.

What other motivation do you need to buy insurance?