Abuja, Nigeria (CU)_ The Nigerian insurance firm AXA Mansard has teamed up with the mobile telecommunications provider Airtel Nigeria to improve Nigerians’ access to health insurance. The new partnership allows Nigerian customers to enroll for health insurance just by dialing *987*7# from their phones, which is aimed at increasing the uptake of health insurance in a country where participation is notably low.
Mr. Alphred Egbai, Head of AXA Mansard’s Emerging Customer and Digital Partnership Group, said Airtel users can have access to more than 1,000 hospitals across the country. He spoke about the need for health insurance in the current situation. He said, “Our research has shown the value and importance of having a health insurance plan to the public especially for the emerging customers in the country, but for many reasons, the uptake of insurance products has been low. In order to mitigate these challenges and satisfy the health needs of the retail consumer whilst also encouraging the uptake of health insurance in the country, we have partnered with Airtel Nigeria to provide a solution that gives users a convenient way to purchase and manage their AXA Mansard micro-insurance plans”.
Under the policy, malaria cover, inpatient, outpatient, specialist medical consultations, immunisations, family planning, ambulance services, and dental treatment will all be accessible. Muyiwa Ebitanmi, Airtel Nigeria’s Head of Mobile Financial Services, expressed optimism about Airtel’s partnership with AXA Mansard. He said that the mobile health insurance effort reflects Airtel’s commitment to deliver new and relevant solutions that would enable more Nigerians to easily access quality health insurance value propositions.
Through a new government initiative, more than 20 million people in Lagos, Nigeria, received access to healthcare in September 2020. Hence, residents of Lagos can avail healthcare services in any hospital for N8,500 (US$22) annually under the Universal Health Coverage scheme, which indicates a family of six would pay N40,000.
