By David Akinmola
As insurers seek to reach more Nigerians with life protection and savings products, agency networks are emerging as a key growth channel, with the latest MDRT ranking highlighting advisers’ role in expanding insurance coverage.
Prudential Zenith Life Insurance Limited emerged as Nigeria’s leading MDRT business in the 2026 ranking, placing first in the country and among the global top 100 companies recognised by the international association for financial services professionals.
The development highlights the growing role of agency productivity and professional advice in an industry still struggling to extend life insurance beyond a relatively narrow customer base, despite the need for households and businesses to protect themselves against financial shocks.
The challenge is significant. Prudential Africa puts life insurance penetration outside South Africa at 0.31 per cent, with insurance spending averaging about $5 per person annually. The figures point to the scale of the protection gap and the opportunity for insurers to expand coverage through better distribution, accessible products and stronger customer relationships.
Chief Executive Officer of Prudential Africa, Emmanuel Mokobi Aryee, said more individuals and families across the continent were recognising the importance of planning for their financial futures, creating opportunities for advisers to improve access to financial protection.
“Across Africa, including Nigeria, more individuals and families are recognising the importance of planning for their financial future. Our advisers have a significant opportunity to make a meaningful difference in their communities,” he said.
Aryee described Africa as Prudential’s fastest-growing MDRT community globally, adding that expansion of the agency force would help the group reach more customers and raise professional standards.
According to the company, 275 advisers across Prudential Africa’s markets qualified for MDRT in the first half of 2026, compared with 662 for the whole of 2025. It attributed the development partly to Prudential plc’s three-year global partnership with MDRT, launched in 2025 to strengthen advisers’ professional knowledge, leadership and access to international best practices.
Prudential Zenith Life’s Executive Director and Chief Operations Officer, Samuel Ohonusi, said the Nigerian ranking reflected the discipline, professionalism and customer focus of its advisers.
He said the recognition would reinforce the company’s efforts to deepen customer trust and widen access to financial advice across the country.
The insurer said its adviser development strategy combines recruitment, product and sales training, needs-based coaching, mentorship and digital tools to help agents understand customers’ circumstances and recommend products suited to their financial goals.
Beyond the ranking, the industry’s challenge is to ensure that the expansion of agency networks translates into sustained policy ownership, better customer experiences and reliable claims settlement. More advisers may improve access to insurance, but long-term growth will also depend on affordability, public confidence, product suitability and insurers’ ability to meet their obligations.
Prudential Africa said it had about 12,000 advisers across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia, a 71 per cent increase over five years. Its customer base rose to 2.6 million from 1.7 million in 2021.
At group level, Prudential plc reported an eight per cent increase in new business profit to $1.384 billion for the six months ended June 2026, while its new business profit margin rose by two percentage points to 40 per cent. Agency business contributed 53 per cent of total new business profit, and new business profit per active agent increased by nine per cent year-on-year.
