By David Akinmola
The Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) has urged operators to accelerate the adoption of InsurTech solutions, warning that the industry’s long-term growth and competitiveness will increasingly depend on digital capacity, data-driven underwriting and AI-enabled service delivery.
At the Institute’s 2025 Education Conference in Enugu, the President/Chairman of Council, Mrs Yetunde Ilori, said the industry must shift from traditional, paper-driven practices to technology-powered models that can unlock scale, efficiency and inclusion in Africa’s largest insurance market.
Ilori noted that InsurTech offers more than operational convenience; it is emerging as a critical economic driver capable of expanding insurance penetration, reducing costs of distribution, enabling micro-insurance and stimulating new investment flows into the sector.
“The days of traditional insurance are over,” she said. “Digitalisation is not optional. InsurTech is essential for the future of our business and for the growth ambitions embedded in NIIRA 2025. We must embrace AI, automation and data analytics to compete effectively and deliver value.”
She stressed that even as technology transforms insurance delivery, trust and professionalism must remain at the core of the business. “Insurance is founded on trust. Ethics, diligence and professionalism must guide every practitioner, no matter how quickly technology evolves,” she added.
Delivering the lead paper, technology strategist Dr Orlando Odejide said Nigeria’s insurance sector stands to gain significant economic value from adopting AI and InsurTech—especially in claims management, underwriting accuracy and cost optimisation.
According to him, the coming wave of automation will reshape job functions and redefine capacity within the industry. “AI has already arrived. It will process and verify claims, underwrite risks and improve efficiency. Practitioners who do not upgrade their digital skills risk becoming redundant,” he warned.
Odejide described NIIRA 2025 as a “revolutionary blueprint” capable of repositioning the sector for higher productivity and enhanced contribution to national GDP, provided operators commit fully to technology adoption.
Discussants including Jackson Ikiebe, Oluwatosin Adebayo-Yusuf, Kehinde Grillo and Ahmed Muritala, all underscored the economic benefits of InsurTech, noting that improved digital competence would enable insurers grow their customer base, improve turnaround time and attract emerging markets such as youth, informal workers and SMEs.
Ikiebe urged practitioners to invest heavily in training, saying: “AI will not replace professionals who understand how to use it. It will empower them to work smarter and deliver better outcomes.”
Ilori announced that CIIN will introduce mandatory ethics training for members and ensure new inductees undergo professionalism programmes before admission into the Institute. She said these measures are designed to safeguard market integrity as digital adoption accelerates.
Registrar of the Institute, Mrs Abimbola Tiamiyu, thanked the Enugu State Government and delegates for supporting the conference, reiterating that CIIN remains committed to building a digitally ready, ethically grounded insurance workforce.
The conference ended with a renewed call for the industry to see technology not as a threat, but as a catalyst for economic relevance, deeper insurance penetration and long-term sectoral growth.
