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| Ibadan Brokers Forum |
In the ancient city of Ibadan, long a commercial and cultural hub of southwestern Nigeria, insurance executives and brokers gathered recently with a pointed message: stronger capital bases alone will not unlock the sector’s potential. What the industry needs now is deeper collaboration, customer-centric product design, and a deliberate rebuilding of public trust.
Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Limited (CHI) and CHI Life Assurance Limited—both subsidiaries of Consolidated Hallmark Holdings Plc—used the Ibadan Professional Brokers Forum to press this case. Leading the discussion were Mary Adeyanju, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of CHI Limited, and Tope Ilesanmi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of CHI Life Assurance Limited. Their call was clear: insurers, brokers and other stakeholders must work more closely to understand evolving customer needs, develop relevant products and restore confidence in insurance.
The timing is significant. Nigeria’s insurance industry has just completed a major recapitalisation exercise under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025. The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) reported that the process lifted total industry capital to approximately ₦1.08 trillion, with dozens of insurers and reinsurers meeting the new minimum capital thresholds. Yet penetration remains stubbornly low—estimates range from under 1 percent of GDP to around 4 percent of the population holding any form of cover—leaving the vast majority of Nigerians and many businesses exposed.
Adeyanju and Ilesanmi argued that capital without capacity, innovation and trust will fall short. Their remarks framed brokers not merely as distribution channels but as essential partners in risk identification, claims response and market education.
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Brokers as the critical link
Adeyanju placed brokers at the centre of the value chain. “Brokers are the first respondents when a claim occurs. You are the first point of contact, and you know the reality of insurance,” she told the forum. Because of their proximity to policyholders, brokers are uniquely positioned to identify emerging risks and ensure products match actual customer needs rather than simply existing product catalogues.
She stressed that business continuity insurance helps companies remain operational and recover after disasters. “Business continuity is about ensuring that a company continues in business even after experiencing a catastrophe,” Adeyanju explained. She urged underwriters and brokers to collaborate in spotting market gaps and designing solutions that solve real problems: “We need to develop products that speak to the needs of people, not just products created to sell insurance.”
The CHI chief also challenged the industry to shed its traditional image. “The insurance industry needs to get out of its shell. Underwriters and brokers must work together towards changing the history and narrative of the insurance industry,” she said. Brokers, she added, should help clients understand their coverage, responsibilities and the genuine value of protection.
This emphasis is strategic for CHI. In earlier broker engagements across Abuja and the South-South, Adeyanju noted that approximately 80 percent of the company’s business flows through professional brokers. She has consistently described them as advisers, risk interpreters and client advocates rather than mere intermediaries.
On financial strength, Adeyanju reassured participants that CHI Limited emerged from recapitalisation on solid footing, citing a capital position of ₦52 billion and flexibility in working with broker partners. Broader group figures reported around the same period showed even stronger metrics: shareholders’ funds reaching ₦58–61 billion, total assets near ₦90–92 billion, and robust profitability and claims payment capacity. The company has maintained a strong GCR rating and emphasises prompt claims settlement as a trust-building tool.
CHI Life’s evolution and the power of gap-driven products
Ilesanmi outlined CHI Life’s journey from a micro-life insurer to a full life assurance company. The firm’s capital base rose from ₦10 billion to ₦11.2 billion after recapitalisation. Over the preceding six months it paid out about ₦1 billion in claims—evidence, he said, of commitment to meeting obligations to customers.
He pointed to the Rent Secure product as a concrete example of identifying and filling a market gap. Rent Secure is an endowment-based savings and protection plan designed to help tenants systematically save for annual rent over three to ten years, with options to increase coverage as rents rise. In a country where housing costs and economic volatility create recurring anxiety for middle-income households, the product addresses a practical, everyday financial pressure rather than an abstract risk.
“We need to look for the gaps in the market and build products around those gaps. Rent Secure is an example of a product created to meet a specific need,” Ilesanmi said. His closing remarks captured the forum’s broader spirit: “The future of insurance will not be built by insurance alone. It will be built through stronger partnerships between insurers and the insured, better products, stronger service, deeper customer understanding and, above all, trust.”
Both executives highlighted the wider Consolidated Hallmark Holdings platform, which spans general insurance, life assurance, health insurance (via Hallmark HMO) and financial services. The group structure, they suggested, enables more holistic risk and financial solutions for individuals and businesses.
Capital is necessary but not sufficient
The Ibadan forum forms part of a series of regional broker engagements CHI and CHI Life have sponsored or participated in during 2026, including events in Abuja and Port Harcourt organised with the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB). These gatherings reflect a deliberate post-recapitalisation strategy: convert stronger balance sheets into wider distribution, faster service, product innovation and higher penetration.
Industry data underscores both progress and persistent challenges. Gross written premiums and total assets have grown sharply in recent years, yet public distrust—stemming from historical claims delays or non-payment by some operators—remains a major barrier. Adeyanju herself has publicly stated that the roughly ₦700 billion raised industry-wide through recapitalisation will not by itself solve the trust deficit. Capital enables larger risk underwriting and investment in technology and talent, but confidence is rebuilt through consistent claims payment, transparency and relevant products.
NAICOM has set an ambitious target of raising insurance penetration toward 10 percent of GDP by 2031 through its Insurance Sector Strengthening Programme. Achieving that will require coordinated effort among regulators, underwriters, brokers, technology providers and educators. Brokers, with their direct client relationships and advisory role, are central to that effort. Over 300 registered brokerage firms operate under the NCRIB umbrella nationwide.
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Unique angles and the road ahead
What stands out from the Ibadan discussions is the shift in emphasis. For years the industry conversation centred on survival and meeting regulatory capital floors. The successful completion of recapitalisation has moved the debate to capacity, innovation and trust. CHI’s decision not to raise fresh external capital for the exercise—having already built sufficient reserves—illustrates one path: organic strength combined with disciplined growth. Its life subsidiary’s rapid claims payments and niche product development illustrate another: demonstrating reliability while solving tangible customer problems.
Digital tools are also entering the picture. CHI has introduced API-enabled portals for marine certificates and digital motor inspection platforms to speed processes for brokers and clients. These investments signal recognition that modern distribution and claims handling must match the expectations of a younger, more digitally fluent population.
For brokers in Ibadan and beyond, the message is both opportunity and responsibility. Closer partnership can mean better product design, faster claims resolution and higher client retention. It can also mean shared accountability for educating the public and changing long-held perceptions that insurance is either inaccessible or unreliable.
Adeyanju and Ilesanmi left little doubt about their commitment. Stronger collaboration between underwriters and brokers, they argued, improves customer experience and drives sustainable growth across Nigeria’s insurance industry. In a market still largely under-served relative to its economic size and population, that collaboration may prove as important as the capital now sitting on industry balance sheets.
The Ibadan Professional Brokers Forum was more than a networking event. It was a statement of intent: the next phase of Nigerian insurance will be built not by capital alone, but by partnerships that put customers—and the brokers who serve them—at the centre.
Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers News, Sports, Finance, Faiths, Education, Technology.
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