By Favour Emmanuel
Noor Takaful Insurance Limited and its subsidiary, Noor Health Limited have distributed N427.96 million surplus to participants and enrollees who did not make claims during the 2024 financial year, reinforcing the growing role of mutual insurance models in deepening consumer participation in Nigeria’s insurance market.
The payment, which was disclosed in Lagos at the weekend, was coming at a time the insurance industries are seeking innovative approaches to rebuild public confidence, improve customer value and expand insurance penetration.
Speaking on the development, the Chairman, Noor Takaful, Ambassador Shuaibu Ahmed, revealed at the 2024 surplus distribution and claims celebration ceremony themed: “promise kept: celebrating Takaful’s commitment to shared reward.”
Ahmed said more than 1,000 participant would receive various amount under the surplus distribution, with 22 participants of Noor Takaful and two enrollees of Noor Health receiving payments at the ceremony.
He described the distribution as a demonstration of “gratitude, accountability, reflection, and celebration of promises made and kept,” stressing that surplus sharing had moved beyond theory to become a practical feature of the company’s operations.
According to him, the growing acceptance of Takaful in Nigeria reflects increasing recognition of the model as a credible alternative to conventional insurance.
“At Noor, however, we believe it is more than just an alternative. We believe it is a better alternative. We say this because Takaful is built around values that are fundamental to how financial protection should work: equity, fairness, mutual responsibility, transparency, and shared benefit,” Ahmed said.
The development is significant for the insurance industry because it comes as operators continue to search for ways for improving the value of proposition of insurance to customers, particularly in a market where low penetration has remained a major concern.
Unlike conventional insurance,Takaful operates on the principle of mutual cooperation, with participants contributing to a common risk pool from which eligible claims are paid. Where a qualify surplus remains after claims and other obligations, participants may receive a share in accordance with the applicable rules.
Vice chairman of Noor Takaful, Aminu Turkur, said the surplus distribution was based on the performance of participants’ risk pools after claims and other obligations have been settled.
He disclosed that the company had grown from about 60 participants at inception to approximately 4,000, describing the growth as evidence of increasing acceptance of Takaful in the country.
Tukur also revealed that Noor Takaful had cumulatively paid N22 billion in claims since inception, comprising N7.4 billion from General Takaful and N14.5 billion from Family Takaful.
“Our role is to ensure proper management and administration of funds, which includes investments. Secondly, we have a responsibility to ensure that every genuine claim is paid on a timely and stress-free basis,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, Deputy Director, Insurance, Technical, NAICOM, Usman Jankara, described the surplus distribution as a practical demonstration of cooperation, shared responsibility, fairness, ethical conduct and collective prosperity.
Jankara said the initiative demonstrated that participants were not merely purchasers of insurance protection but contributors to a system based on cooperation and mutual benefit.
