Determinants of Insurance Uptake Among Market Traders in Onitsha, Anambra State

This study investigates the determinants of insurance product uptake among market traders in Onitsha, Anambra State, South East Nigeria. Onitsha hosts one of Africa's largest commercial markets, with hundreds of thousands of traders operating across goods categories ranging from electronics and textiles to foodstuffs and building materials. Despite their exposure to significant business risks including fire, theft, flooding, and credit default, formal insurance penetration among Onitsha traders remains extremely low. This study uses a survey design, administering structured questionnaires to 220 traders drawn from five major markets in Onitsha. Variables assessed include insurance awareness, income level, trust in insurers, perceived risk, product accessibility, and prior claims experience. Logistic regression is applied to identify statistically significant predictors of insurance uptake. Findings reveal that only 12 percent of sampled traders hold any form of business insurance. Insurance awareness is low, and distrust of insurers based on anecdotal claims rejection stories is the strongest barrier to uptake. Income and perceived risk level are significant positive predictors of insurance demand, while the complexity of application processes is a significant negative predictor. The study concludes that insurance uptake in the Onitsha market is constrained primarily by trust deficits and product inaccessibility rather than by lack of risk awareness or affordability alone. It recommends that insurers develop simplified trade insurance products distributed through market associations with transparent claims settlement processes.

Keywords: insurance uptake, market traders, Onitsha, risk perception, financial inclusion.