“Heirs Insurance and Heirs Life once again demonstrate our core purpose of improving lives and transforming Africa.
In our years of operations. Across different industries and countries, we have become synonymous with customer focus and the highest levels of corporate governance. These are the hallmarks for these new businesses. We know that our promise, our people and our proven track record will transform the insurance industry, put the customer first and empower people, in good and bad times”, were the words of Tony Elumelu, the Founder and brain behind Tony Elumelu Foundation.
This attests to the company’s readiness to usher in a new era in the insurance industry, having demonstrated the vision of Heirs Holdings to position the private sector as a key enabler of economic and social wealth creation in Africa.
In Nigeria today, there are currently 55 registered (underwriting) insurance companies in Nigeria, with 28 as general business underwriters, 14 life underwriters and 13 composite underwriters. However, the space that has only done less than one per cent, is big enough for everyone and there are lots of untapped opportunities in the industry, particularly in the retail space.
Noticing these untapped potentials, UBA Group under the leadership of dynamic Tony Elumelu, gave birth to Heirs Insurance Holdings, headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria.
The announcement of their coming came about July 2020 in a National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) advertorial which sent jittery into the market, with some players already raising concern on new market completion. NAICOM in an advertorial published on Thursday 24th July announced that Heir Insurance Limited (General), Heirs Life Assurance Limited among other companies have indicated interest to operate in Nigeria.
The publication said “The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has received applications from the under listed companies for registration as insurance companies to transact insurance business in Nigeria.
“In fulfilment of the statutory provisions of extant laws for the registration/licensing of insurance companies, the general public is hereby informed that the Commission has commenced the process of registering the companies. Members of the public are requested to submit/report any objection or otherwise against these registrations to the Commission within 21 days from the date of this publication, please.”
Then, in November 2020, the Nigerian Federal Government, through the insurance regulator, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), officially issued the operating licences for our new Group insurance companies – Heirs Insurance Limited (HIL) and Heirs Life Assurance Limited (HLA).
The company swung into action immediately. Today, the company, under the leadership of its Ag. MD, Adaobi Nwakuche, mostly regarded as the First Lady of Insurance,
has come into the market and changed its structure. The company has shown that it is bringing freshness into the sector. It is a new beginning for the sector.
The company believes immensely that the private sector is a key enabler of economic and social wealth creation in Africa. This is a representation of an important milestone in a long-term strategic journey by the firm in providing much-needed, quality, and valuable financial services, to a broad demographic in Nigeria.
Heirs is a conglomerate with an investment portfolio in power, oil and gas, financial services, hospitality, real estate and healthcare sectors, operating in twenty-three countries worldwide. A brainchild of a foremost Nigerian billionaire and investor, Tony Elumelu, CON, the company is inspired by Africapitalism.
The philanthropic Foundation of the company, ‘Tony Elumelu Foundation’ catalyses entrepreneurship across Africa, through the USD $100million Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, advocacy and research.
Its entry into the nation’s insurance industry caused jittery down the spines of its competitors, as they believe it will cause a major disruption in the country’s insurance space.
Long before its establishment, the institution established by the UBA Group and its subsidiaries has a large insurance buy that has been managed over the years by other insurance companies, but with its entry into the financial world, it moved its account to its subsidiary.
With the already established customer base in the UBA group, the new insurance company, Heir Holdings most likely has leveraged on this to grow its retail sales, thereby increasing competition among companies.
In a statement, the company believes in investment for the long-term, bringing strategic capital, sector expertise, a track record of business turnaround success and operational excellence to companies it invests in.
Heirs Insurance and Heirs Life have a paid-up share capital of N10 Billion and N 8 Billion respectively, and are backed by leading reinsurers, providing a second layer of security for clients’ insurance portfolios.The company has made insurance simple, accessible, and affordable and this gives credence to how it is thriving in a highly saturated market. Heirs Insurance is one of the most liquid and well-capitalized insurance companies in the country right now.
Olamide Adeniji is a member of the editorial team of TheScript Newspaper
