Ilori bows out as CIIN president after one-million-youth insurance literacy drive

Yetunde Olubunmi Ilori, the outgoing president/chairman of Council of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), is ending her two-year tenure with an ambitious legacy project aimed at tackling one of the insurance industry’s biggest challenges, the low public awareness.

Ilori unveiled a fully digital initiative to educate one million Nigerian youths on insurance, describing it as a strategic intervention to improve insurance literacy, deepen insurance penetration, expand industry participation and create employment opportunities for young Nigerians.

The programme, being implemented in partnership with the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), the Federal Ministry of Youth Development and other stakeholders, is designed to equip young people with knowledge to make informed financial decisions, pursue careers in insurance or become advocates for insurance awareness in their communities.

Speaking during a virtual press conference ahead of her valedictory ceremony, Ilori said education remained the cornerstone of her administration’s EPIC agenda and would continue to shape the institute’s long-term vision.

“We deliberately shifted from focusing only on insurance practitioners to educating schools, universities, children, youths and the general public because awareness is the foundation for industry growth,” she said.

According to her, the institute introduced several initiatives during her tenure, including Insurance Week outreach programmes, university-led awareness campaigns, insurance hackathons and the publication of simplified insurance books targeted at children and teenagers.

She added that CIIN also successfully engaged government authorities to secure the inclusion of insurance in Nigeria’s national financial literacy programmes, marking a significant policy breakthrough for the profession.

Although the teaching of insurance in secondary schools was suspended, Ilori expressed confidence that ongoing discussions with government and industry stakeholders would lead to its reinstatement.

She said introducing insurance education at an early stage would help build a financially literate population, improve public understanding of risk management and support higher insurance adoption across the country.

Beyond education, Ilori said her administration strengthened collaboration across the insurance ecosystem by fostering closer engagements among the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) and other industry stakeholders.

The renewed cooperation, she noted, has helped promote a more united industry capable of addressing common challenges and advancing insurance development in Nigeria.

Ilori leaves office with more than four decades of experience spanning underwriting, actuarial services, claims, executive management and industry leadership.

Her insurance career began in 1984 at Trans Nigeria Assurance Company Limited during her National Youth Service Corps programme. She later became a permanent employee, rising through the ranks to head the Life and Pensions Department before taking charge of the Claims and Reinsurance Department.

In 1997, she joined Crusader Insurance Plc as Head of Actuarial, Research and Statistics before overseeing the company’s Life business.

Her corporate career reached another milestone in 2004 when she became Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of AXA Mansard Insurance Plc, then Guaranty Trust Assurance Plc.

Under her leadership, the company’s gross premium income expanded dramatically from about N27 million to more than N13 billion, while the insurer diversified into several new product lines, helping establish it as one of Nigeria’s leading insurance companies.

Ilori later became the first female Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), where she spearheaded several landmark industry projects.

These included the completion of the association’s six-storey headquarters, expansion of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Database (NIID) to cover motor, marine, building and group life insurance, implementation of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Platform (NIIP), and the digitalisation of the industry’s statistical reports, significantly improving transparency and access to market data.

She also broke new ground as the first female Chairperson of the Life Committee of the African Insurance Organisation (AIO), while serving in several strategic leadership positions across Nigeria’s insurance industry.

A graduate of Actuarial Science from the University of Lagos, Ilori is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute, London, an Associate and Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, and an alumnus of the Advanced Management Programme of Lagos Business School.