L-R: Mr. Obinna Chilekezi, Member, Panel of Judges, 2026 Almond Insurance Industry Award; Hakeem Ogunniran, Founder/CEO, Eximia Realty Co Ltd and member, Panel of Judges; Sir Ogala Osoka, Chairman, 2026 Almond Insurance Industry Awards Panel of Judges; Faith Kesiena Ughwode, Chief Executive Officer, Almond Production Limited and Prof Olajide Solomon Fadun, Consultant, Almond Insurance Industry Awards, during the press conference unveiling nominees for the 2026 Almond Insurance Industry Awards which kickstarts the voting process held in Lagos.
The Awards Panel of Judges for the 2026 Almond Insurance Industry Awards led by Sir Ogala Osoka has officially released the names of nominees across the various award categories at a well-attended press conference in Lagos State, thereby declaring the commencement of public voting.
The nomination exercise, which lasted for one month, attracted nominations from insurance and broking firms, corporate organisations, individual clients, government agencies and other stakeholders across the insurance industry.
Following a rigorous screening exercise based strictly on the Awards Criteria, a total of 796 nominations successfully emerged across the various award categories.
While this represents a slight reduction from the 914 nominations received in 2025, the Panel noted that the figure reflects a more refined nomination process and stricter compliance with the Awards Guidelines, ensuring that only deserving individuals and organisations made the final shortlist.
The companies and individuals that made the final cut and emerged as the nominees in this year’s Award categories are:
GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY OF THE YEAR
- REX INSURANCE LIMITED
- LEADWAY ASSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED
- CAPITAL EXPRESS INDEMNITY INSURANCE CO LTD
- CORONATION GENERAL INSURANCE LTD
- FIN INSURANCE COMPANY LTD
- NEM INSURANCE PLC
LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF THE YEAR
- LEADWAY ASSURANCE CO LTD
- CORONATION LIFE ASSURANCE LTD
- CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED
- HEIRS LIFE ASSURANCE LIMITED
- STANBIC IBTC LIFE INSURANCE LTD
- MUTUAL BENEFITS LIFE ASSURANCE LTD
INSURANCE BROKING COMPANY OF THE YEAR
- SCIB NIGERIA & CO LTD
- ARK INSURANCE BROKERS
- STANBIC IBTC INSURANCE BROKERS
- GLANVILL ENTHOVEN INSURANCE BROKERS
- FBN INSURANCE BROKERS
- HOGG ROBINSON NIGERIA LTD
INSURANCE CEO OF THE YEAR
- MR GBOYEGA LESI, MD/CEO, LEADWAY ASSURANCE COMPANY LTD
- MRS EBELECHUKWU NWACHUKWU, MD/CEO, REX INSURANCE LTD
- MR STEPHEN ALANGBO, MD/CEO, CORNERSTONE INSURANCE PLC
- MR ADEWALE KOKO, MD/CEO, CAPITAL EXPRESS INDEMNITY INSURANCE LTD
- MR OLAMIDE OLAJOLO, MD/CEO, CORONATION GENERAL INSURANCE LTD
- MRS ADAOBI NWAKUCHE, MD/CEO, VERITAS KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC
INSURANCE WOMAN OF THE YEAR
- MRS EBELECHUKWU NWACHUKWU, MD/CEO, REX INSURANCE LIMITED
- DR ADAOBI NWAKUCHE, MD/CEO, VERITAS KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC
- MRS ADETUTU ARUSIUKA, DEPUTY PRESIDENT CHARTERED INSURANCE INSTITUTE OF NIGERIA (CIIN)
- MRS MUIBAT JIMOH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CORONATION LIFE ASSURANCE LTD
- MRS ABIMBOLA AKINLOYE, HEAD OF UNDERWRITING, CORNERSTONE INSURANCE PLC
- MRS MARY ADEYANJU, MD/CEO, CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE LIMITED
MICRO INSURANCE COMPANY OF THE YEAR
- CASAVA MICROINSURANCE LTD
- LIFEGUARD MICROINSURANCE LTD
- PRUDENT CHOICE MICROINSURANCE LTD
- ALLY MICROINSURANCE LTD
- GOXI MICROINSURANCE LTD
- NEW DAWN MICROINSURANCE LTD
TAKAFUL INSURANCE COMPANY OF THE YEAR
- NOOR TAKAFUL INSURANCE LTD
- HILAL TAKAFUL INSURANCE LTD
- JAIZ TAKAFUL INSURANCE LTD
- CROWN TAKAFUL INSURANCE LTD
- SALAM TAKAFUL INSURANCE LTD
INSURANCE BROKER OF THE YEAR
- MR SOLANKE OGUNLANA, MD/ CEO, Scib NIGERIA & CO LTD
- MR KAYODE AWOGBORO, MD/CEO, ARK INSURANCE BROKERS LTD
- DR OLASUPO FALANA, MD/CEO, GLANVILL ENTHOVEN INSURANCE BROKERS
- MRS ENITAN SOLARIN, MD/CEO, YOA INSURANCE BROKERS LTD
- MR SAHEED EGBEYEMI, MD/CEO, HOGG ROBINSON NIG LTD
- DR (MRS) FUNMI BABINGTON – ASHAYE, MD/CEO, RISK ANALYST INSURANCE BROKERS LIMITED
MOST VALUABLE INSURANCE CUSTOMER OF THE YEAR
- DANGOTE GROUP
- NNPC LIMITED
- AIR PEACE LIMITED
- CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA (CBN)
- HITECH CONSTRUCTION COMPANY LIMITED
- M. L. LEE GROUP OF COMPANIES
- PRICEWATER HOUSE COOPER NIGERIA (PWC)
Speaking at the press conference in Lagos, the Chairman of the Awards Panel of Judges, Sir Ogala Osoka stated that winners in the various categories will be determined through a combination of public votes (10%), the judges’ assessment (10%) and industry data (80%).
In the continuation of efforts to preserve the credibility and integrity of the awards, the On-Time Password (OTP) verification system introduced during the previous edition will once again be deployed throughout this year’s voting exercise to eliminate duplicate voting.
The Panel therefore encourages nominees, their clients, colleagues and members of the public to participate by casting their votes via the awards website: www.almondinsuranceindustryawards.com Voting remains FREE and both companies and individual clients are eligible to vote once in each award category.
Voting will close on the 6th of September 2026 to allow the Awards Panel conclude its final assessment ahead of the 2026 Almond Insurance Industry Awards and Consumers’ Nite which will hold at The Stable Event Center, 45, Bode Thomas Street Surulere Lagos on the 6th of November, where the winners will be unveiled in an evening dedicated to celebrating excellence within Nigeria’s insurance industry. The purpose of the awards remains unchanged: recognising and rewarding the outstanding efforts of the men and women across the different arms of the industry who work tirelessly to promote and sell insurance, often in challenging circumstances, as well as companies leading the change in their operations and delivering value to stakeholders.
Since its inception in 2018, the awards has evolved into the biggest nite on the insurance industry calendar, bringing together industry practitioners, policymakers, corporate leaders, entertainers and the general public for an unforgettable celebration of excellence.
As always, this epoch-making event will feature some of Nigeria’s finest entertainers in music, comedy and dance.
