The Nigerian National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has granted Enterprise Life Assurance Company (Nigeria) Limited, license to commence operations in the country. This is after the company met the minimum stated capital requirement of ₦8billion in February 2020.
Enterprise Life Assurance Company (Nigeria) Limited is a member of the Enterprise Group PLC, a financial services Group with operating companies in insurance, pensions, real estate and funeral services.
Speaking on the license acquisition, the Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Keli Gadzekpo, said the move is in line with the Group’s vision of expanding its business footprint beyond Ghana, into the broader West African Sub-region.
“As Africa progressively moves into middle-income status, the importance of insurance for risk mitigation and as a savings tool is becoming more important. Enterprise Group is positioned to play a key role in promoting insurance for these reasons.
Over the years, with the support of our clients, we have carved a great reputation for ourselves in service delivery and claims payment. We intend to extend our expertise and strength throughout the West African region. So far, we have had a very successful start with the performance of Enterprise Life in The Gambia and are excited about the opportunity to repeat this success story in Nigeria.”
Funmilayo Abimbola Omo, Managing Director of Enterprise Life, Nigeria expressed excitement about the opportunity to further enhance the insurance industry in Nigeria. According to her, “Despite the enormous opportunities that come with a burgeoning economy and a large population, insurance penetration in Nigeria is still considerably low.
We believe that the solutions we are about to introduce will resonate well with the Nigerian public, so that more and more people will benefit from the protection that insurance offers. The entry of Enterprise Life is a game changer and our solutions will change the face of insurance in Nigeria.”
Enterprise Group PLC is a financial services company comprising the following operating companies; Enterprise Insurance Company, Enterprise Life Assurance Company, Enterprise Trustees, Enterprise Properties, Enterprise Funeral Services Ghana, Enterprise Life, Gambia and the recently licensed Enterprise Life Assurance Company, Nigeria. The roots of the company date back to 1924, when it first started operations in Ghana.
With an asset base of approximately US$288million, the Group has its headquarters in Accra, Ghana and is listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange. Three of the Group’s subsidiaries, namely Enterprise Insurance (the non-Life subsidiary) Enterprise Life (the life insurance subsidiary) and Enterprise Trustees (the pensions subsidiary) are leaders in their respective markets.
These afore-mentioned subsidiaries are also long-standing members of the Ghana Club 100, which is the yearly official list of the top 100 companies in Ghana, compiled by the Ghana Investment Promotion Center. In 2019, the Group’s insurance subsidiaries wrote Gross Premiums in excess of US$109million. The Life Insurance subsidiary has about 27% market share while the Non-Life Insurance subsidiary, which is rated AA by Global Credit Rating, controls about 15% of its market.
The Group has a strategic partnership with Black Star Holdings Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leapfrog Strategic African Investments, which is a separate account managed by Leapfrog Investments, and in which Prudential Financial, Inc., USA is the primary investor.
