A consortium of insurance companies led by Leadway Assurance Company Limited, in collaboration with Rex Insurance Limited, NSIA Insurance Limited, AIICO Insurance Plc, and Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), has paid a N181,917,900 as claims to livestock herders across Adamawa, Bauchi, and Plateau States, under the Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) programme.
The claims payout ceremony, held in Yola, Adamawa State, marks a significant milestone in the use of innovative, data-driven insurance solutions to protect pastoral livelihoods against climate-related risks.
The IBLI programme is designed to provide timely financial relief to livestock owners affected by drought and other climate shocks and avails them with financial resources to purchase pasture for their animals whenever there is drought in the grazing area thereby protecting the animal from mortality. Unlike conventional insurance, IBLI relies on objective indices such as satellite-based vegetation data to trigger payouts, ensuring transparency, efficiency, and prompt compensation without the need for individual loss verification.
Leadway Assurance serves as the Lead Technical Partner for the IBLI programme, providing technical leadership in product design, risk management, and implementation, while working closely with its co-underwriters. The programme is further strengthened through partnerships with Africa Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re), the reinsurer of the project, Livestock Productivity and Resilience Project (L-PRESS), International Finance Corporation (IFC) a member of the World Bank Group, thereby underscoring the importance of regional and international partnerships in the development and deployment of this innovative and bespoke insurance solutions for the benefit of cattle herders in Nigeria.
Mr. Ayoola Fatona, Global Head, Agriculture Risk Solutions, Leadway Assurance, highlighted the importance of collaboration in delivering impact at scale: “The IBLI claims payout underscores our commitment to delivering innovative, data-driven insurance solutions that protect livestock-dependent livelihoods. Through strong collaboration with our co-underwriters, L-PRESS, IFC and Africa Re as reinsurer, we are strengthening resilience among herders in Adamawa, Bauchi, and Plateau States while advancing sustainable agricultural risk management in Nigeria by Livestock farmers. By deploying this solution the herders adaptability and coping mechanism against the negative impact of climate change and global warming is further enhanced”
The claims paid represent verified index-triggered losses recorded during the insured period and demonstrate the effectiveness of the IBLI framework in responding to climate shocks affecting pastoral communities.
The IBLI consortium remains committed to expanding access to agricultural insurance through strong partnerships with reinsurers, governments, and development stakeholders, while promoting resilience, financial inclusion, and sustainable livelihoods within Nigeria’s livestock sector.
By this initiative, Leadway Assurance Company Limited has once again demonstrated its commitment to contributing to guaranteeing the food security of the Nation.

By Sola Alabadan

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has announced a renewed commitment to deep regulatory reforms and strengthened sectoral oversight as it commences its 2026 Management Retreat today in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, themed “Insurance Regulation: Reset, Reimagine, Refocus.”
Delivering the welcome address, the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Olusegun Omosehin, declared the retreat a defining moment in NAICOM’s 29 year institutional journey.
He emphasised that the insurance regulator is entering a new phase of transformation anchored on integrity, professionalism, and a united leadership culture.
According to him , the theme of the retreat represents a call to deliberate action —to reset outdated practices, reimagine the industry’s full potential, and refocus regulatory strategies to deliver greater national impact.
Mr. Omosehin underscored NAICOM’s critical role in advancing President Bola Tinubu’s $1 trillion economic agenda, stressing that Nigeria requires a robust, well capitalised, and shock resistant insurance sector capable of supporting economic stability, investor confidence, and sustainable national development.

The NAICOM boss reiterated that ongoing recapitalisation exercise in the nation’s insurance industry is one of the most consequential regulatory interventions in recent decades.
He clarified that the initiative transcends capital raising —it is designed to: strengthen the financial health of insurers, enhance consumer protection, deepen insurance penetration, build a shock resistant industry, reinforce insurance as a pillar of national development, as well as restore and sustain public trust.
He also stressed that the success of the exercise would be judged by its credibility, transparency, and professional execution, noting that there would be no room for ambiguity, favouritism, compromise, or shortcuts.
Addressing the management staff, Omosehin charged them by saying: “Let integrity be your anchor. Let professionalism be your compass. Let transparency be your operating standard.”
He emphasised that NAICOM’s strength lies in its internal cohesion and that no department can achieve success in isolation.
He further called for teamwork, discipline, open communication, and a culture free of silos and turf protection.
During the session, management staff took a collective pledge to uphold integrity, fairness, accountability, and global best practices in delivering a recapitalisation process that will safeguard the future of the Nigerian insurance industry.
Omosehin listed some key priority areas required to reposition the sector, including: strengthened regulatory oversight, precise execution of the recapitalisation road map, enhanced stakeholder engagement, improved internal capacity —especially in riskbased supervision and data analytics
Market development and technologydriven innovation, stronger institutional culture and accountability, and reinforced policyholder protection.
Omosehin maintained that collective strength and shared purpose are essential for the sector’s transformation, even as he reaffirmed NAICOM’s commitment to building an insurance industry that is resilient, trustworthy, globally benchmarked, and fully aligned with Nigeria’s longterm economic ambitions.

The management of CRC Credit Bureau, on Monday, paid a courtesy visit to the Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Olusegun Omosehin, at the commission’s Head Office in Abuja.
During the strategic meeting with NAICOM, CRC Credit’s Managing Director/CEO, Dr. Tunde Popoola expressed interest in partnering with the commission to integrate insurance sector data into national credit reporting systems, driving digital adoption, reducing fraud, and enhancing underwriting and claims management in Nigeria’s insurance industry.
The Commissioner for Insurance, in his response, expressed the commission’s strong interest to collaborate with the CRC to leverage its data and analytics for regulatory oversight, Know Your Customer (KYC), fraud detection and industry capacity building.
Both parties agreed to pursue concrete steps including product demonstrations and analytics showcases; develop a proposal for an insurance-sector database and integration framework; deliver capacity-building/training sessions, a proposal for a dedicated insurance-sector database, and closer operational collaboration.
Integrating insurance data can boost the sector in several ways:
– More accurate underwriting and risk-based pricing
– Speedier, more accurate claims processing and fraud prevention
– Detecting and monitoring fraudulent activities, including multiple claims
– Enhanced KYC and customer verification leveraging CRC’s datasets
– Support for digital insurance products and financial inclusion through automated decision.