Heirs Life Assurance, the specialist life insurance member of Heirs Insurance Group, has announced the appointment of Callista Azogu as an Independent Non-Executive Director.

Callista is an accomplished business leader with over 35 years of experience spanning finance, operations, human resources, and executive leadership.

She previously served as the Deputy Managing Director at Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited, where she led key stakeholder engagement with government institutions and contributed to major commercial negotiations. She also served as the pioneer Finance and Control Manager at Eni Ghana Exploration & Production Limited. Currently, she serves on several corporate boards and brings expertise in stakeholder engagement, corporate governance, and compliance.

Commenting, Tony O. Elumelu, Chairman, Heirs Life Assurance, said: “We are pleased to welcome Callista to the Board of Heirs Life Assurance. She brings formidable Board experience, a commitment to excellence, strong corporate governance, and a track record of delivering long-term value. I am confident that she will further strengthen our leadership, as we continue transforming the insurance industry with innovative, accessible, and inclusive solutions.”

Heirs Insurance Group is the insurance arm of Heirs Holdings, the leading pan-African investment company, with investments across 24 countries and four continents.

With a rapidly expanding retail footprint and an omnichannel digital presence, Heirs Insurance Group, comprising Heirs General Insurance Limited, Heirs Life Assurance Limited and Heirs Insurance Brokers, serves both corporate and individual customers across Nigeria.

Heirs Insurance Group is championing financial inclusion and leading the digital insurance play in Nigeria, demonstrating its mission to democratise access to insurance.

L-R: Mr. Kunle Ahmed, Chairman, NIA and Mrs. Bola Odukale, DG of NIA at the quarterly media briefing in Lagos yesterday.

The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has defended the decision of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to publish the names of insurance companies with outstanding claims in the market.

Mr. Kunle Ahmed, the Chairman of NIA said yesterday in Lagos that such action will promote transparency in the industry and encourage existing and potential policyholders to embrace insurance in Nigeria.

“By publishing the names of insurance companies with outstanding claims and the details of these complaints, NAICOM is promoting transparency and demonstrating commitment to protecting the interests of policyholders. It sends a strong message to insurers that the regulator is taking the issue of unpaid claims seriously and is willing to take concrete action to ensure that policyholders receive their due compensation as at when due.”

Ahmed said the hallmark of any insurance company worth its licence is the payment of claims, adding that despite the quantum of claims paid by the industry, there is still significant improvements to be made on the ease of making a claim and general improvement of the claims process. He said that is the only way to build public trust and ensure the sustainability of the sector.

“Whilst most companies will meet their claims obligations, it is believed that the threat of being publicly named and shamed, coupled with potential sanctions for non-compliance is a strong incentive for insurance companies to prioritise the settlement of outstanding claims and improve their claims-handling processes. NAICOM has explicitly stated its zero tolerance for delays in settling genuine claims and has warned that non-payment could even lead to the cancellation of licenses.”

The NIA boss said the regulator is also empowering policyholders to be more informed and to utilise official channels for resolving their grievances, a measure he said could help policyholders who may have felt helpless in the face of delayed or denied claims.

“The publications can also help to identify systemic issues within specific insurance companies or the industry as a whole that contributes to the high volume of outstanding claims. This allows NAICOM to develop targeted regulatory interventions to address these underlying problems.”

The NIA Chairman, however, noted that some insurers cited inaccuracies in the publication and lack of active engagement before the list was made public.

“They argued that some listed claims have already been paid or are subject to ongoing disputes or are even fraudulent. The insurance companies are therefore strongly advised to engage the regulator by providing updates on each complaint listed against them as this will enable NAICOM to update the list accordingly.”

Going forward, he said the NIA will soon invite Fintechs to make a pitch on different innovations that will ensure that the claims process is shortened, leading to improvement in the timely payment of claims in the industry.

Leadway Group, Nigeria’s leading non-banking financial services group, has provided comprehensive upskilling for insurance, pension, and brand journalists in its commitment to enhancing the understanding of financial inclusion and wellness.

The training was designed to improve the quality, depth, and accuracy of media reportage of non-banking financial services coverage, ultimately strengthening the connection between the financial industry and the media.

The Leadway Group, through its in-house experts from its associate companies, including Leadway Assurance, Pensure, Health, Asset Management, and Trustees, put together the capacity-building sessions as part of its broader strategy of equipping media professionals with the right tools to shape narratives and communicate insurance, pension, asset management, trustees, and healthcare management stories with clarity, responsibility, and confidence.

Speaking at the training, Mr. Babatunde Lamina, Benefit Processing Specialist at Leadway Pensure, delivered an insightful session on the pensions subsector, specifically Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs).

He explained that “AVC, an added contribution into an individual’s Retirement Savings Account (RSA), benefits professionals optimally, towards a more secure financial future.”

He added that the AVC can be up to one-third of the contributor’s salary but not more. It’s vital to inform your employer before opting in. This scheme also accommodates retirees, contract workers, political appointees, and expatriates.

Addressing the often-misunderstood insurance claims process, Mr. Adekanmi Adelakun, Team Lead, Financial Exposure, Casualty and Liability Claims at Leadway Assurance, walked participants through the end-to-end claims’ lifecycle, from documentation to eligibility and notification channels. He stated, “The claims process is our ‘shop window’, the lens through which our customers view us. It is imperative for policyholders to understand the type of coverage they own.”

From a regulatory standpoint, Mrs. Temidayo Olugbesan, Compliance Lead at Leadway Assurance, reviewed recent developments in the regulatory landscape. She said, “The insurance sector will continue to evolve and regulations are being designed to protect policyholders and ensure compliance across the board. Awareness and adaptation are key for all stakeholders.”

Eniola Odukale, Sales Executive, International Retail & SME at Leadway Health, spotlighted the company’s health offerings and rapidly expanding healthcare partnerships.

She said: “Leadway Health is customer-centric at its core. With over 2,500 hospital partnerships across Nigeria and an expanding international network, including the UK, South Africa, and India, our goal is to bridge healthcare gaps, especially in underserved areas.”

Commenting on the significance of the training, Aishat Bello-Garuba, Head, Corporate Services, Leadway Group, noted, “The media plays a powerful role in shaping public understanding, particularly in sectors like insurance and finance. At Leadway, we recognise that informed reporting fuels greater trust in our industry. This initiative is part of our broader vision to build enduring partnerships that encourage clarity, inclusion, and confidence in the financial system.”

At its core, the session did not only focus on new product offers. It was about partnership, clarity, and ensuring that the stakeholders who shape public understanding through their headlines and stories are not just reporting but understanding.

Leadway continues championing innovation, customer-focused service, and media collaboration in its responsible business and industry advancement approach.

About Leadway Group

Leadway Group is a leading non-banking financial services group in Nigeria, boasting a robust insurance, investment, and financial services foundation.

With decades of industry experience, Leadway Group has consistently played a pivotal role in shaping the financial landscape of Nigeria.

The organisation strongly emphasises corporate social responsibility and community welfare, embodying a commitment to wealth creation and well-being.

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.”