An educational content on insurance will soon be devised for all school levels in Iran with the aim of fostering a healthy and informed culture that will boost the prospects of the ailing industry.
According to the news portal of the Central Insurance of Iran, the sole regulator and decision-making body of the growing but frail industry, a workgroup consisting of technical experts has been formed within the Ministry of Education specifically for devising the content.
“If we start education from elementary schools, we will witness an increase in the penetration ratio of insurance and ultimately a sustainable social welfare in the future,” CII chief, Abdolnasser Hemmati, said.
The official recently disclosed the latest statistics for the insurance industry, which showed that even as insurance premiums registered a year-on-year increase of 21.1% during the previous fiscal year to March 20, 2018, the industry’s penetration ratio was predicted to stand at around 2.3%, which is much lower than where it could be.
“Including insurance content in school books will not only familiarize the teenage and young generation with insurance concepts, but will also enlighten teachers and families and if this trend were to continue, the culture of insurance will meaningfully spread in the society,” he said.
Hemmati referred to the sustainable development of the industry as “vital” and said that to realize the many untapped potentials of the industry, teaching the concept from a young age is critical.
The CII and the government have been trying to inculcate the culture of insurance in Iran in the past few years. The life insurance category, which currently has a limited share in the industry’s overall portfolio, has been one of their main focuses.
