In a significant step towards deepening agricultural resilience across Nigeria, Leadway Assurance Company Limited has entered into a strategic partnership with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) through a $399,900 grant initiative to implement the “Building Farmers’ Resilience through Innovative Insurance Models and Financial Instruments” project.

AGRA is an African institution supporting inclusive agricultural transformation and sustainable food systems. This three-year initiative, running from March 2025 to March 2028, aims to transform the livelihoods of 21,000 smallholder farmers (SHFs) across Kaduna, Nasarawa, and Niger States.

Climate change continues to escalate risks for Nigerian farmers, manifesting in unpredictable rainfall, prolonged droughts, extremely high lethal temperatures and increased crop failure. This volatility threatens national food security/systems and undermines years of agricultural progress. Recognising the scale of this challenge, Leadway Assurance has taken a bold step forward, championing innovative risk management strategies tailored to the realities of rural agriculture.

At the heart of the new intervention is the “Pay at Harvest” insurance scheme, an innovative premium collection model that enables farmers to defer insurance payments until after harvest, when liquidity is more assured. This approach lowers the financial barriers to insurance enrollment, increases uptake among SHFs, and embeds resilience within the agricultural value chain.

“Pay at Harvest” empowers farmers to protect their livelihoods without upfront costs, ensuring they can bounce back from climate-related losses and secure credit, inputs, and market access with greater confidence.

This new grant builds upon Leadway Assurance’s successful three-year partnership with Heifer International, under which over 60,000 smallholder farmers benefited from the “Pay at Harvest” model. The current AGRA-funded and sponsored project goes a step further by offering a more holistic package, including access to off-takers and market linkages, extension services and climate-smart agronomy support, digital mapping of farmlands for enhanced monitoring and accountability, timely early warning systems for extreme weather events, scalable farmer education programs to promote financial literacy and climate-smart practices, and expanding public-private collaborations for unlocking innovative finance, including green climate finance, for crop insurance.

To deliver on this ambitious vision, Leadway Assurance will work alongside expert partners, Verdure Climate – supporting climate risk analytics, PULA – offering tech-enabled agricultural insurance solutions, Rural Country Integrated Services Ltd. – field implementation partner, National Agricultural Development Fund (NADF) and Heifer International – unlocking catalytic finance for SHFs.

By 2028, the initiative also aims to facilitate $10 million in agricultural credit, launch 6 new financial products tailored to smallholder farmer needs and disseminate 4 knowledge products to drive broader sectoral adoption.

Commenting on the initiative, Head, Agribusiness, Leadway Assurance, Mr. Fatona Ayoola described the partnership with AGRA as a decisive moment for agricultural risk management in Nigeria. “By bringing bespoke parametric insurance solutions to underserved communities who are vulnerable to the negative impact of climate change and aligning them with broader value chain interventions, we are not only protecting livelihoods but also rebuilding trust in farming as a viable business for rural Nigerians.”

According to Dr. Rufus Idris, Country Director at AGRA, “for Nigeria’s agricultural transformation and food security efforts to succeed amid increased climate uncertainty, insurance needs to work better in helping smallholder farmers protect their farmlands and crops from climate change shocks (flood, draught, pest and diseases, etc.). Hence, this project aims to help build on a proven model and catalyze resources for a wider access to insurance and adoption by smallholder farmers.”

Dr. Akeem Oyewale, the Chief Executive Officer of Marble Capital Limited, who delivered the keynote paper at the recent BusinessToday Annual Conference in Lagos said a financially empowered youth population boosts national savings and investments, just as higher insurance adoption reduces reliance on government social support, creating a more sustainable economy.

The theme of the conference was “Banking on the Future: Youths, Pension and Insurance Penetration.”

Oyewale lamented however that despite the growing youth population, insurance adoption remains alarmingly low, with Nigeria’s insurance penetration at just 0.5% of GDP, with minimal youth engagement.

“While the global average stands at 6.80%, Nigeria’s rate is significantly lower, suggesting that the country’s insurance sector is underdeveloped. Even in the African context, Nigeria’s penetration rate lags far behind leaders like South Africa (11.54%) and Namibia (7.41%).”

In his goodwill message, Mr. Segun Omosehin, the Commissioner for Insurance and CEO at NAICOM said the Commission is focused on driving innovation and expand youth penetration in the insurance sector in Nigeria.

“As the future depends on how we engage and equip our youth, it’s essential to prioritise their exposure and relevance in the financial sector. To achieve this, the Commission is focusing on building trust and driving innovation to cater to the evolving needs of our growing young population. By that, we encourage the insurance industry to ensure that insurance products and services are tailored to meet the unique requirements of younger generations, promoting financial inclusion, stability and greater adoption of digital insurance solutions.”

He said by emphasising youth engagement and promoting financial literacy, there is a huge opportunity to unlock the potential for growth and development in the insurance sector. This he added, will in turn, contribute to the overall economic prosperity of Nigeria, as the insurance industry plays a vital role in mobilising long-term savings, financing infrastructure projects and promoting risk management.

“As a Commission, we are committed to building trust and driving innovation which will pave the way for a more inclusive and sustainable financial system, where the needs of the young generation are at the forefront.”

He said to secure the financial future of young people, stakeholders must rethink engagement strategies by offering youth-friendly financial products to meet the unique needs of young people, strengthening financial education by introducing targeted literacy programs, leverage workplace initiatives to promote insurance participation.

“Insurance services are key initiatives that when made youth-friendly, can change the face of capital formation and wealth dynamics in Nigeria.”

L-R: Yetunde Ayeni, Group Head, Resources, Heirs Insurance Group, and Mrs. Yetunde Ilori, President, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria at the award presentation of the Agency Company of the Year to Heirs Life Assurance by the College of Insurance and Financial Management (CIFM), last week in Ogun State.

Leadway Assurance, Nigeria’s leading insurance provider, has partnered with Wafira Ntaba Limited to launch a bespoke insurance policy for Nigerian women.

The product, Plan B Insurance, comes in simplified and affordable packages for as low as twenty-six thousand Naira per quarter, broadening financial inclusion and income protection for women-led Small to Medium-sized Enterprises and lifestyle protection for women across different social strata in Nigeria.

One uniqueness of the Plan B product is in its single-wide coverage from risks and perils related to auto insurance, healthcare, personal accident, fire, burglary, life insurance and education cutting across its different product packages – SME, Corporate and Premier packages.

Ayona Aguele Trimnell, the visionary behind the innovative Plan B Insurance for Nigerian women, shared the inspiration behind the products.

She stated: “Plan B is an idea that has been in development for 10 years. As I began exploring insurance products aimed at women in other countries, I recognised the need for an insurance product that promotes financial inclusion in Nigeria, specifically for women. I believed we could create something that addresses their unique concerns. Women need to understand how insurance can alleviate their worries and the benefits of being insured. I have personally enjoyed the advantages of insurance for over fifteen years, and I believe other women should have the opportunity to experience the same benefits.”

The product focuses on gender-inspired market penetration, amplifying insurance benefits and helping more women secure a more financially secured future.

“Financial inclusion is important and achievable, and we can make it happen if we put in deliberate effort to educate more women about insurance, simplify the benefits to help even the uneducated, understand and be convinced to secure their future by becoming a policyholder. It has been proven and tested that women too buy insurance, but more women need to be aware and get insured”, Ayona Aguele Trimnell said.

Kike Fischer, Leadway’s Director Sales, Retail and Partnerships, discussed the market approach for the Plan B product, stating: “We are confident that these products will help women of all classes in Nigeria create and protect wealth, recover from economic challenges, pursue their purposes, and lead their families with peace of mind.

We believe these products should reach women in every household, so we have developed strategies to engage women in small socioeconomic groups. This will require increased effort, particularly at the retail level. There will be questions, and we must be prepared to provide answers. Our goal is to help women understand insurance and encourage them to actively participate in driving financial inclusion. This begins with securing their futures and then spreading awareness.”

She explained that Plan B is a comprehensive financial product designed to sell insurance policies to women and educate them about the purpose of having insurance and how it can help them achieve financial independence.

By partnering with the Plan B product, Leadway has reinforced its commitment to promoting financial inclusion and ensuring secure financial futures for women.

About Leadway Assurance Company Limited 

Leadway Assurance is one of Nigeria’s foremost insurance service providers, renowned for its efficiency and customer reliability.

With over 50 years of experience, Leadway has consistently honoured its underwriting commitments and earned a reputation for excellence in claims handling.

The company remains at the forefront of the insurance industry, offering innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of its clients. 

About Wafira Ntaba Limited

A Marketing Company based in Lagos. Its core area of expertise is Communication Strategy and Development within the financial `sector with extensive experience in insurance product design, market insights, brand development, profitability management and distribution. 

The company’s goal is to continue to co-develop products for niche markets in Nigeria for Women, Youths and Group/Affinity schemes.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, Olaotan Soyinka has made a plea to Nigerians to imbibe the culture of insurance considering the economic situation in the country.

He made this statement at the company’s first quarter review of operations and processes of the underwriting firm at the corporate Head Office in Lagos at a press parley.

The MD/CEO reiterated the need and importance of insurance in the everyday life of all Nigerians irrespective of the tribe, religion or social status in the society.

He said “insurance is an integral part of our socio-economic life that should not be taken for granted.” Olaotan posited that a lot of Nigerians are really trying to make ends meet and therefore, they should be encouraged to have an ally that can be there for them when the eventuality happens and that can only come through having one form of insurance policy or the order.

He also alluded to the biblical story where the Noah’s Ark was the succour for those who took refuge inside it after the flood had receded.

In his words: “The earth was restored to its former position with God not having to go through the process of creation like He did in the beginning when the earth was formed.” Like Noah’s Ark, he added that insurance takes you back to your former position before the loss.

Soyinka said this is the time Nigerians need to consciously educate themselves on the benefits they are bound to derive in taking up an insurance policy.

He said there are various insurance products that the insuring public can take in protecting their lives and properties but that the most important thing is for the customers out there to willingly open their minds in accepting the fact that insurance is a very important aspect of their lives.

In closing, Soyinka said: “Nigerians have waited too long in willingly accepting and recognising the fact that without insurance, one is like building a House without a foundation and in no time, it could come crashing; and when that happens, you will have to start from the scratch again with even more funds than you initially spent.”

Soyinka said insurance gives you the promise of a safe and comfortable future.

“The earlier we disabuse our minds of the old notion that insurance doesn’t work, the better it will be for all of us. Nigerians should begin to cultivate an uncompromising culture of insurance.”