Techniques and Technicalities of Selling Takaful to The Insuring Public in Nigeria

This study discussed sales strategies and technical components of operations used by the Takaful insurance companies in Nigeria, and analyzed their suitability in encouraging people to utilize them in the Nigerian insurance sector. This research was inspired by the fact that Takaful penetration in Nigeria has remained very low in spite of its ethical nature and its demographic applicability. A quantitative research design was also taken, but in form of cross sectional surveys conducted on Takaful operators, sales agents and policyholders. The explanatory variables were sales techniques and the technicalities of operations whereas the dependent variable was the public adoption. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression, which helped to test the study objective. The findings also indicated that both sales methods and technicalities in the operations had positive and significant impacts on citizens adopting Takaful insurance in Nigeria. Nevertheless, the sales methods showed greater effect on the adoption results compared to operational technicalities, which implies that the selling interface is in the first place when influencing consumer behavior. The results indicated that the limitations of Takaful uptake were significantly limited by the lack of agent communication, engagement strategies, and explanatory depth even in the cases of having operational structures. The research established that it could not be only the regulatory or structural restrictions that led to low adoption of Takaful in Nigeria but market facing practices played a major role in influencing the adoption of Takaful. The research demonstrated the strategic relevance of professionally engaged sales and open communication of operations as the key in increasing the uptake of Takaful in Nigeria.