Programme plans to train 6,000 professionals, boost women and youth participation and connect 250,000 MSMEs to insurance
Stakeholders in Nigeria’s insurance industry have launched a nationwide initiative aimed at reaching 25 million Nigerians with insurance literacy and financial education as part of efforts to increase coverage and rebuild confidence in the sector.
The Insurance Sector Strengthening Programme, ISSP, is also targeting greater access to insurance for women, young Nigerians and micro, small and medium enterprises while promoting professional development and wider use of digital platforms across the industry.
Speaking at the programme’s launch in Abuja, the Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission, Olusegun Omosehin, said the initiative was designed to provide a coordinated approach to some of the longstanding challenges facing the insurance market.
The programme is built around six areas: advocacy and policy support; awareness and education; capacity development; gender inclusion; youth engagement and innovation; and MSME and value-chain development.
Under the initiative, stakeholders aim to provide insurance and financial education to 25 million people and train 6,000 insurance professionals and intermediaries.
The programme also seeks to achieve 40 per cent female participation among policyholders and industry professionals, increase youth participation in the insurance market to 30 per cent and link 250,000 MSMEs with affordable insurance products.
NAICOM calls for digital-first approach
Omosehin said the industry would need to rethink how it interacts with consumers, particularly younger Nigerians who increasingly depend on digital channels for information and financial services.
He noted that insurance companies could no longer rely on traditional approaches while a large proportion of the population conducts daily activities through mobile devices.
According to the commissioner, low public awareness, limited insurance coverage and weak consumer confidence remain major obstacles to industry growth.
He identified gaps in understanding insurance products, limited opportunities for women and young people, inadequate professional capacity, distribution problems and concerns about trust as key issues requiring attention.
Omosehin also urged brokers and other industry operators to develop distribution models that correspond with changing consumer behaviour and make insurance products easier to access.
He said sustainable expansion would depend on collaboration across the sector, innovation, improved professional standards and stronger consumer confidence.
Stakeholders seek coordinated industry growth
The Team Lead of the ISSP design team and Managing Director of EMDI Capacity Development Ltd, Bukola Ifemade, said Nigeria’s insurance industry needed coordinated action to realise its significant growth potential.
He said the launch represented the beginning of a broader mobilisation effort and stressed that achieving the programme’s objectives would require sustained partnerships, innovation and inclusion.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, Senator Adetokunbo Abiru, described the initiative as timely as Nigeria seeks to strengthen its economic foundations.
Abiru, who was represented by his Special Adviser, Victor Inedu, said a well-developed insurance industry was essential for protecting individuals and businesses, mobilising long-term capital and creating greater certainty for investors.
He observed that millions of Nigerians and businesses remained either uninsured or inadequately insured, leaving significant room for expansion.
The senator also said legislation and regulation alone would not be sufficient to transform the sector without effective implementation and cooperation among stakeholders.
He pointed to the Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Act 2025 as evidence of the National Assembly’s efforts to strengthen the industry’s institutional and regulatory framework.
Canada backs insurance sector partnership
The Trade Commissioner representing the High Commission of Canada in Nigeria, Funmike Sojinuga, also stressed the importance of a strong insurance market to economic confidence and investment.
She commended the collaboration between the ISSP and the Canadian insurance sector, noting that the partnership could contribute to regulatory development, innovation and expansion of the Nigerian insurance market.
Stakeholders said the new programme would ultimately seek to move insurance from a relatively limited financial product to a more widely used tool for protecting households, businesses and investments across Nigeria.
