Airtel, one of Nigeria’s telecommunications services providers, has said it is partnering with AXA Mansard, to help deepen access, participation and enrolment in health insurance by more Nigerians.
The announcement was contained in a statement by Airtel and made available to newsmen in Lagos over the weekend.
Airtel stated that the partnership with AXA Mansard is in response to the Federal Government’s goal through its National Health Insurance Scheme, that easy access to healthcare should be provided for all Nigerians.
It said the partnership will be done by leveraging on the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) channel, an easy-to-use and interactive platform.
“By dialling the short code *987*7#, Airtel customers can now conveniently enrol for affordable and robust health insurance plans from AXA Mansard, with access to over 1,000 hospitals nationwide for quality healthcare services,” it added.
Muyiwa Ebitanmi, Head of Mobile Financial Services, Airtel, said that the initiative demonstrates Airtel’s commitment to providing innovative and relevant solutions that will empower more Nigerians to conveniently access best-in-class health insurance.
“Airtel Nigeria is always exploring innovative ways and platforms that will make life easier, more meaningful and more enjoyable for Nigerians.
“With this initiative, we are not just delivering quality health insurance services to the doorstep of more people, we are also leading a quiet revolution that will drive and deepen health insurance inclusion.
“This will remove the many barriers that have excluded many well-meaning Nigerians from participating in the sector,” Ebitanmi.
Alfred Egbai, Head, Emerging Customers and Digital Partnerships Group at AXA Mansard, stated that research has shown that it is important to have a health insurance plan for the public but noted, however, that for many reasons the uptake of insurance products has been low.
“To mitigate these challenges and satisfy the health needs of the retail consumer, the company partnered with Airtel to provide a solution that gives users a convenient way to purchase and manage their AXA Mansard micro-insurance plans,” Egbai said.
He said that AXA Mansard Health plans cover Malaria In-patient, out-patient, specialist medical consultations, immunizations, family planning, ambulance services, and dental care.
