By Emmanuel Enitan
Nigeria’s struggle to expand insurance coverage is increasingly becoming an economic development concern, with AXA Mansard Insurance Plc warning that the country’s huge protection gap is leaving households and businesses vulnerable to financial shocks that could undermine investment, job creation and long-term growth.
The insurer argued that insurance must move beyond being treated as a financial product purchased to compensate for losses and become part of the country’s economic infrastructure, particularly as individuals, households and businesses contend with rising costs, economic uncertainty and growing risks.
Chief Executive Officer of AXA Mansard Insurance Plc, Kunle Ahmed, made the submission at the launch of the company’s pan-African ‘Culture of Care’ campaign, where he said a stronger insurance culture could improve the resilience of Nigerians and provide greater confidence for businesses to invest and expand.
According to him, millions of Nigerians remain exposed to risks capable of wiping out years of savings, disrupting businesses and pushing vulnerable households into financial distress because of inadequate insurance protection.
“Insurance is economic infrastructure. It helps families recover from setbacks, gives businesses the confidence to invest and grow, and supports economic stability by enabling people to plan for the future with greater certainty,” Ahmed said.
His position comes against the backdrop of Nigeria’s persistently low insurance penetration, which has left a large segment of the population and the informal business sector outside the formal risk-transfer system.
For industry stakeholders, the challenge is not merely getting more Nigerians to buy insurance but rebuilding confidence in the value of protection, particularly among households and small businesses that often regard insurance as an additional cost rather than a mechanism for preserving income and wealth.
The issue has also become more important as businesses face multiple risks arising from economic volatility, infrastructure deficits, cyber threats, climate-related events, fire, theft and business interruption.
Ahmed said the consequences of inadequate protection could extend beyond individual policyholders, as the inability of households and businesses to absorb shocks could weaken consumption, disrupt productive activities and discourage investment.
He said a household that loses its major source of income or property without adequate insurance could quickly exhaust its savings, while an uninsured business hit by fire, theft or another major operational risk could struggle to reopen, putting jobs and investment at risk.
“Every day, Nigerians demonstrate a culture of care through the sacrifices they make for their families, employees, customers, and communities. Insurance is an extension of that care because it helps protect what people have worked hard to build,” he said.
The argument places the insurance industry’s expansion within the wider question of how Nigeria can build a more resilient economy, particularly as government and businesses seek to stimulate investment and increase productive capacity.
While recapitalisation and regulatory reforms are currently reshaping the insurance industry, the bigger test for operators, according to the emerging industry narrative, is whether stronger balance sheets will translate into greater underwriting capacity, better claims payment, wider distribution and improved confidence among policyholders.
The success of the sector, therefore, may increasingly be measured not only by premium growth or capital raised by operators, but by the extent to which insurance reaches households, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and other parts of the economy that remain largely uninsured.
