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It is no longer contestable that poverty laden countries in Africa including Nigeria needs micro insurance to support low income earners and small scale businesses in their quest to break away from poverty. 
The major challenge is how to use this as anall important growth driver to support micro finance institutions by providing access to finance; giving insurance companies the impetus to create the products and provide the services needed for this programme to succeed. 
But in reality, most insurance companies before now were established not with the intention of providing micro insurances, thereby making it difficult for proper implementation; because the interest of most existing firms has been on corporate clients and big individuals, hence, concentration is more in the cities. This therefore, translate to the detriment of the rural population, which had remained ignorant about insurance and do not see the need to take insurance to protect assets or property.
Micro insurance by its nature is a long-term investment, due to the fact that it does not give the type of premium income and profit which a conventional insurance provider would tender under a short period. The premium is low; the policies are friendly and require humans to succeed.
But with increased desire by government in West African countries to provide platforms that will take the populace out of poverty, experts suggest that government should license new companies with special interest in micro insurance. Or alternatively, allow corporative societies to own insurance institutions that would specifically support its members and others with protection polices.
Mike Ikupolati, director general, West African Insurance Institute, stated that the challenges of micro insurance in West Africa are many. 
"Our local conditions are unfavourable, premium income is low, administrative” costs are relatively high and infrastructure for insurance support is lacking. Adding that this explains why the commercial insurers in West Africa have not taken more interest in the market.  
He however suggested how to entrench this practice in West Africa, where there could be insurance companies set up by mutual or cooperative societies, to provide insurance services to their members and sometimes to other non-members.
"They provide reduced premiums on policies; allow instalment payments of premiums, which are collected more regularly than done under the conventional insurance policies." 
Alternatively, he said, there are insurance companies owned by others who extend their services to the poor by way of small scale loan guaranteeing policies, credit guarantee policies, self-employed retirement policies, and injury covers, done in a way to allow the poor have access to it."
Ikupolati, therefore, suggested the need for government's support, stating that micro-insurance cannot achieve these envisaged contributions to poverty eradication without adequate support from the authorities concerned. Government must support the development of micro-insurance through promotion and sensitisation of public opinion; strengthening the viability and financial capacity of the schemes, for example, through reinsurance or guarantee funds; supporting structures like second-tier associations or networks that provide technical support and training to micro-insurance schemes; facilitating the exchange of information between actors to make sure that successful experiences can be replicated with other groups or in different geographical areas; formulating recommendations on design; benefits package, affiliation and administration.
Josephine Amaoh, commissioner for insurance, Ghana, also observed that one way of rapidly expanding micro-insurance services, is for an insurance company to offer a product line that reaches the low income market through alternative distributive channels like micro finance institutions, community organisations, retailers, churches and cell phone companies.
She said market regulators should ensure products and procedures are well-tailored to suit the needs of the low-income households. Micro-insurance policy wording requirements should be developed to ensure that insurance policies for the poor are concise, brief and written in very simple language, so that the terms and conditions are easily understood.