ABSTRACT
This research work is centered on exploring the Public Relations strategies
for enhancing the Image of Insurance companies in Nigeria with Enugu
Urban as a case study. The Public attitude to insurance and its practitioners
are very often manifested in outright distrust of what insurers do. There is
then the urgent need to promote insurance awareness through Public
Relations strategies and to checkmate some of the common mis- understand
and conceptions about Insurance companies that the public has. The
research work is highly descriptive and inferential in nature. This involved
the use of tables and percentages as basic statistical technique employed to
analyze the raw data.
The data was subsequently subjected to both chisquare
and T test statistical tests using SPSS package 15.0. All the
alternative hypothesis of the three hypothesis postulated were all accepted.
Findings revealed that the level of insurance awareness and knowledge in
Enugu Urban is very low due to the distrust arising from poor reputation of
insurance companies and their agents which has lead to the tarnishing of the
image of insurance companies in Enugu Urban. It was also discovered that
awarding scholarships, to outstanding students, sponsoring both sporting
and non-sporting activities, organizing seminars and workshops and advert
placement on radio and television are some of the public relations strategies
that can help enhance the image of insurance companies. It was concluded
that the insurance companies’ needs to strategically implement Public
Relations programmes and strategies aimed at image building to improve
their image. Recommendations made include among other things that to
ensure an enviable corporate image, insurance companies should improve
their media relations strategies and techniques.
