Heirs Insurance Group (HIG), one of the fastest growing insurance groups could anytime serve as a case study for resilience, hard work, steadfastness and doggedness in traversing the mucky waters of business such as insurance space in Nigeria.
The company, now a group, which started operation barley three years ago has grown up to be a force to reckon in the marketplace carving a niche in operational efficiency, services delivery excellence, prompt claims payments and rekindling the once eroded public trust and confidence in insurance.
Within the period, 2021 and 2023 when the underwriting group commenced operations, a remarkable milestone indicates a sterling performance surpassing the industry average in recent times.
Available record shows that Heirs InsuranceGroup (HIG) recorded a 60percent growth in premium in its financial performance for 2023 cementing its presence in the risk management sector as a formidable institution in Nigeria.
- Advertisement -
The Group’s Gross Written Premium (GWP) grew by 60percent from N19.9billion to N31.7 billion with 80 percent increase in the Earned insurance revenue from N11.3 billion in 2022 to N20.5 billion in 2023.
On claims payments the Group also paid N4.1 billion in 2023 from N1.6 billion in 2022 claims, representing 161 percent growth demonstrating its reliability and commitment to upholding customer’s trust.
Earlier this year, HeirsInsurance Group marked its third anniversary by unveiling an impact documentary that captures its remarkable growth since its launch. The group also highlighted the innovative initiatives it has pioneered in the insurance industry, including its unrivalled digital presence across various channels and its customer-focused Rewards and Loyalty programme.
Three years down the line, the group prides itself as the most innovative, technology-driven insurer tagged digital insurancecompany, and the most prompt claims paid company and democratising insurancespace, among other feats.
Recounting the company’s journey from inception, Niyi Onifade, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at Heirs Life Assurance Limited (HLA) said: “The journey started in 2013 when our parent company, Heirs Holdings carried out research in the insurance industry. The research revealed that insurancepenetration rate in Nigeria was very low over the years, in fact less than one percent.
“The reasons for these were the issues of lack of trust, meaning that people didn’t really trust the insurance industry particularly when it comes to claims payments. Then we have the issue of products and services which didn’t really meet the needs of the people among many other issues.
Our parent company then decided to enter into the insurance industry space to make a difference. In that year Heirs Holding decided to approach the national insurance commission, NAICOM, for an operational license as an insurance company…..we applied for a composite license and we thought that the process was going to be that very fast.
“Surprisingly that year marked a very long journey, the journey that we described as a journey of resilience. It took us seven years to get operational license from the Commission. In November 27 2020, the chairman, Mr. Tony Elumelu, led our team to NAICOM headquarters in Abuja where we got two licenses, one for Heirs Life Assurance Limited, and the other one for Heirs General Insurance Limited. It didn’t take us time to start operation at all.”
He disclosed that it took the company to officially launch to the public on June 12, 2021, six months after it actually started operations.
Buttressing the CEO’s point, Ifesinachi Okpagu, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), of the group added: In 2015 we were so excited to start what is known as Heirs Insurance Group. Then it was Heirs Insurance because we were not able to pull ourselves together as a group. It was really a disappointing period. I remember that we were three or four at the time.
This place was empty; the entire building was totally empty. We didn’t have furniture, fittings, nothing. So, it’s interesting to know that today we have over 200 people spread across the entire country from this place where we started with nothing, no signage, no paper and no branded thing to this moment where we have over 200 people. It’s huge, it’s amazing,” she said.
Blessing Emezuele, Head, Legal and Company Secretary noted: “On the 1st of December 2020, we officially started our operations with the first board meeting of both life and general holding on the 1st of December 2020. And that’s why, for those of us that started the business, we do not see ourselves as staff but as a family. We see ourselves as partners in the business, we see ourselves as stakeholders in the business and we have that special attachment to the company. And that’s where we are today.
For Wole Fayemi, MD/ CEO, Heirs General Insurance…it’s incredible to see that a business that started with ground zero in 2021 would have gone as far as HeirsInsurance group. It’s quite uncommon and unprecedented in Nigeria’s Insurancemarket that within three years of operations both Heirs Life Assurance and Heirs General have done as much as close to N40billion. That is massive in the history of insurance industry in Nigeria.
Heirs Insurance Group is the insurance subsidiary of Heirs Holdings, the leading pan-African investment company, with investments across 24 countries and four continents, founded and led by Tony Elumelu.
