The Nigerian insurance industry have signalled its determination to embrace innovation through shared collaboration that will not only expand market opportunity, but also bolster customer experience.
This is as data from Industry’s Inaugural Innovation Survey shows that 87 percent executives are willing to collaborate on shared solutions, while another 69 percent are ready to commit resources in 2025.
The growing openness expressed at the formal launch of 2025 NIA Innovation Lab by the Nigerian Insurers Association marks a pivotal moment for the sector as it looks to modernise and meet emerging challenges.
Kunle Ahmed, chairman, Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) said the launch of the 2025 NIA Innovation Lab is a landmark moment in the Association’s journey to redefine insurance practice in Nigeria.
“Today, we are not just opening a facility. We are igniting a movement. A movement rooted in innovation, driven by collaboration, and destined to transform the way we protect lives, assets, and futures.”
According to Ahmed, this lab is the Industry’s commitment to that leadership. It is a space where ideas will be nurtured, technologies will be tested, and solutions will be born. It is where the future of insurance will be imagined and built.”
He noted that with the median age of Nigerians at 18 years, the envisioning of a Nigerian insurance industry that is agile, inclusive, and digitally empowered is the way to go. One that leverages artificial intelligence, blockchain, and data analytics will not just to improve efficiency, but deepen trust and expand access.
“To our innovators, this is your playground, your launchpad, your opportunity to shape the future, so we invite you to embrace change, challenge norms, and create solutions that matter.”
Babatunde Fajemirokun, chairman of the NIA Advisory Committee on Digital Innovation & IT said to get to the point of this formal launch, the Inaugural Insurance Innovation Survey engaged 45 senior leaders, including 22 chief executive officers (CEOs), 10 chief technical officers (CTOs), and 13 heads of Strategy across life, general, and microinsurance .
Their voices, Fajemirokun noted, captured where the industry must focus and how collaboration can unlock transformation.
He said ‘The data reveals a sector ready to embrace innovation, with 87 percent of executives expressing willingness to collaborate on shared solutions and 69 percent confirming readiness to commit resources in 2025”
According to him, customer experience, acquisition, KYC, and distribution rank as the top priorities for innovation, while fraud management, eKYC, and claims exchange emerged as the most promising areas for industry-wide collaboration.
Fajemirokun also informed that the greatest barriers to innovation are from the survey are Cost of Implementation, which ranked 78 percent and Regulatory Constraints ranking 56 percent, alongside Return on Investment (ROI) concerns and resistance to change.
Impact Hub is partnering with the NIA to drive this process, which is expected with attract innovators and tech exerts.
