profile:Life insurance will improve Rwanda’s society, says Sonarwa’s James Obi

GETTING life insurance is a necessity that can save individuals a lot of heartache and stress when calamity strikes. As much as insurance packages are available, several Rwandans are ignorant of their benefits.Life insurance is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer: the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of the insured person.In an interview with The New Times, Macdonald James Obi , the Managing Director for Sonarwa, explains how the Life Insurance policy works.“Insurance differs in each jurisdiction and Rwanda has comparatively done a lot given its history. However, a lot needs to be done in the area of insurance in terms of skills training, developing the profession and the industry,” Obi said. Regarding the misconception, that Life insurance is only for the rich, Obi said: “On the contrary, life insurance is not a product for the rich, it is for everyone. There are several situations where parents die leaving their families behind without provision—in other words, the day the bread winner dies, that’s when the family begins to fall apart.” However, with life insurance, orphaned children have a chance to pursue their lives with fewer hardships because the proceeds will sustain them for a while.Obi first came to Rwanda in October 2011, when Nigeria’s Industrial and General Insurance Plc (IGI) became shareholders in Sonarwa. The 46-year-old was born in Nigeria although he has widely travelled worldwide. “I am from a humble family where my father worked for Shell Petroleum and my mother, as a teacher. I am the first child in a family of six and studied in Lagos. My father died when I was just 11 years old,” Obi explains. Losing his father at an early age, forced him to become a strong, established and inspiring individual. “I’m a living example of God’s favour because I have achieved most of the things a man would wish for in life; with all modesty, I give God the glory,” said Obi who is, married and has four sons and a daughter.Although Obi has a degree in Business Administration, he ended up on the doorsteps of the Insurance industry while job searching after he graduated. In the course of his career, he realised the need to professionalise his career and hence pursued further studies in the insurance field.“Getting into the Insurance industry was by accident. The first insurance company I worked for was American International Insurance Company in 1986. I worked for several Insurance companies in Nigeria too including Industrial and General Insurance Plc that I joined in 2010. This same company invested in Sonarwa and that is how I came to work in Rwanda,” Obi explains. Obi’s impressions of Rwanda when he was first told about his new job position were those of alarm.“I had little knowledge about the Rwanda today because everything I came across during my research was connected to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. This information only made me think, ‘Rwanda is a place not to venture into—it was supposed to be the end of the world.’ That’s the picture I saw when I was told to come to Rwanda.“But when I came, I discovered that it was totally different, as a matter of fact, I have come to like this country within the few months I’ve stayed here,” Obi conveys. “Even with relatively limited resources, facilities such as electricity, water and housing, work better than where I come from. The weather is fantastic and I have fallen in love with the country. God willing, I will bring my family to stay with me here,” he said. His FavouritesDish: Ugali and Egusi (Watermelon) Music: Inspiration and Gospel music Sport: Swimming and Table Tennis