E-Financial
Airtel Insurance: When Reliable Service Meets Need of Customers
Despite the huge benefits that come with insurance, it is a fact that many Nigerians particularly the middle and low-income class do not easily subscribe to it.
Excuses abound when people are asked why they have little or no interest in insurance. Their excuses stem from some the negative impression they have about insurance companies.
While some believe that claims do not get paid on time, others blame it on unaffordability of policies.
No wonder that Nigeria presently has a low insurance penetration. In a special report titled, “Africa Market Review: Gearing up for Sustained Growth”, A.M. Best, the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source, comparing Nigeria’s insurance penetration to countries like Kenya and Morocco (with levels of 3.2 per cent and 2.9 per cent respectively) explains that, with a population of 174million people, Nigeria is still underinsured.
While reviewing Nigeria’s insurance economy at the last annual seminar of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), the president, Mr. Bola Temowo in a press statement issued in Benin, stated that: “86.6 million Nigerians have no form of insurance while 1.3 million adults, representing 1.5 per cent of the entire Nigerian adult population, maintain some category of formal insurance cover.”
However, with the introduction of Airtel Insurance, an innovative package which offers free life and hospital insurance to Airtel subscribers, Nigerians may begin to view insurance from a positive perspective and the apathy could be on a gradual decline to eventually boost insurance culture among Nigerians.
Airtel Insurance was launched last year August by the leading telecoms services provider, Airtel Nigeria in collaboration with Cornerstone Insurance Plc. and MicroEnsure.
It was launched to give a sizeable and strategic segment of the Nigeria population access to life and hospital insurance policies.
The policy offers middle and low-income earners the opportunity and access to life and hospital insurance with increasing benefits based on monthly airtime recharge.
The Airtel Insurance policy is accessible to its subscribers across the country between the ages of 18 – 65 years old. The scheme is endorsed by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).
Since its launch, customers of Airtel Nigeria from all walks of life have benefitted from Airtel Insurance especially as the registration process is made convenient through the subscriber’s phone. Beneficiaries commended the Telco for the initiating Airtel Insurance to ease the complications they unexpectedly encountered.
Early this year, Iyabo Sunmola, a fashion designer in Lagos emerged one of the beneficiaries of Airtel Insurance. She received a cheque of N10, 000 to offset her medical bills after she delivered her baby on 7th January this year.
She was presented her cheque at the Airtel showroom at Oba Akran Ikeja, Lagos. Iyabo, excited to have emerged one of the many beneficiaries of the scheme, explained that she first learnt about the policy through a notification message on her phone.
Also recently, Mr. Omotayo Balogun, a transporter with a haulage company, registered through the USSD and forgot about it until he realised he could use the insurance policy.
“Airtel is worthy of commendation,” he said, for caring for its subscribers beyond the services it offers.
Between October and December last year, many Airtel customers also received hospital cash through Airtel Insurance.
Mr. Augustine Peters, a final year Business Administration (DLI) student in University of Lagos; Mr. Adeniji Owolabi, a self-employed Aluminium structural engineer and Mr. Ojo Aderogba, a stockbroker, received their cheques of N50, 000, and N25, 000 and N25, 000 respectively at the headquarters of Airtel Nigeria, Banana Island, Ikoyi, on Thursday 30th October 2014 to receive their claims. A police man also emerged a beneficiary.
Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Maurice Newa, explained that the service showed the telecom’s continued commitment towards making lives better for Nigerians. “This further corroborates Airtel’s commitment to creating a robust platform that helps customers accomplish their professional and personal success and goals in life,” he said.
Registration and Payment Made Easy
To subscribe for the free service, customers are expected to register by dialling a code, and then reply the confirmation message with the intended customer’s name, as requested.
Then subscribers are expected to recharge their Airtel line with a minimum of 1000 naira or, 5000 or 10, 000 naira units before the last day of each month to get an insurance cover for the next month.
The amount recharged each month determines the life cover for the next month.
Airtel Insurance makes it easy for prompt payment of claims when the need arises. Customers can lay claim to their policy by dialling Airtel customer service on 121 for the documents needed and where to submit them. Payment for claims is made within 72 hours after the required valid claim documents are received.
Cornerstone Insurance and MicroEnsure noted their delight in partnering with the world-loved telecoms brand. Mr. Ganiyu Musa, group managing director of Cornerstone Insurance Plc, said: “That we are grossly under-insured as a nation is very well documented; we are glad to be able to provide a platform for millions of financially excluded Nigerians to enjoy the benefits and peace of mind of insurance – for free.”
In the same vein, Mr. Peter Gross, regional director for MicroEnsure Africa said, “MicroEnsure is proud to be leading the world as a mobile insurance provider, and this launch in Nigeria marks a milestone in free mobile insurance offerings.”
He expressed that, “This combination of insurance products, all offered for free, is unprecedented in the industry here, and we take pride in introducing a cutting-edge micro-insurance product here in Nigeria.”
MicroEnsure is one of the fastest-growing insurance organisations in Africa, presently with 11million customers, 6 million in Africa and with 85% never insured before.
It presently offers mobile insurance for Life, Accident and Hospital through technical service provider to telecom in countries like Tanzanzia, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Malawi, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Pakistan.
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The World Bank has predicted that Nigeria may likely see a rise in the levels of poverty over the next two years despite a moderate economic growth forecast.
The multilateral lender noted that while non-resource-rich countries are expected to continue reducing poverty and grow faster, resource-rich countries like Nigeria may drag due to declining oil prices.
”Resource-rich countries are expected to see less progress in terms of poverty reduction,” the World Bank said in its Africa Pulse report titled ‘Improving Governance and Delivering for People in Africa’.
“Importantly, poverty in resource-rich, fragile countries (which include large countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria) is expected to increase by 3.6 percentage points over 2022–27,” it added.
The Nigerian government has in the past two years provided various safety nets to ease the burden of the citizens, but these, on their own, may not be enough to lift millions off the poverty line.
The reforms which were implemented some 20 months ago, though came with a plethora of gains such as allowing the economy to be market-driven rather than artificial pegging, it’s nonetheless exacerbated poverty with the numbers rising from 104 million to 129 million people in a year.
According to the World Bank, Nigeria accounts for 19 percent of the share of poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa, followed by Congo, Ethiopia and Sudan with 14 percent, 9 percent and 6 percent respectively.
But despite the growing poverty, the Washington-based lender expects Africa’s most populous nation annual GDP to increase 3.6 percent in 2025 and 3.8 percent in two years. “Economic growth is expected to remain moderate in Nigeria,” the World Bank said.
“It is expected to increase from 3.4 percent in 2024 to 3.6 percent in 2025, and slightly increase to 3.8 percent in 2026–2027.”
According to the World Bank, the gradual recovery of the Nigerian economy along the forecast horizon is driven primarily by the service sector—specifically, finance, information and communications technology services, and transportation—and, to a lesser extent, a rebound in oil production that converges to its OPEC+ quota.
The World Bank’s projection is relatively higher than the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised forecast for the nation.
IMF cuts Nigeria’s 2025 economic growth forecast downward to 3.0 percent from the earlier projection of 3.4 percent in 2024, citing weakening oil supply and escalating global trade tensions.
The two projections are however largely lower than Nigeria’s ambitious projected annual GDP growth of 4.6 percent outlined in the 2025 budget.
According to Adetilewa Adebajo, investment banker and economist Nigeria must intensify efforts towards economic diversification, infrastructure development, and asset optimisation to stimulate economic growth and attract global investments
“Sale of oil and gas JV assets to optimise equity within the FGN capital structure and balance sheet are crucial for Nigeria’s path towards sustainable development.
“Deliberate Investment projects such as the Agro Airport development and Olokola deep sea port, in Ogun State, major infrastructure projects led by companies like Arise and Dangote, need to be replicated nationwide,” Adebajo said.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has urged Nigerians to report any suspected illegal investment schemes to the commission for proper investigation and necessary action.
This is in the light of the recent collapse of Crypto Bridge Exchange (CBEX).
The Commission issued a notice on Thursday to the investing public, warning that Ponzi investment schemes pose a significant danger to the growth of the capital market.
In its latest advisory, the Commission highlighted the growing threats and risks posed by Ponzi schemes, illegal investment operations, and unregistered digital asset platforms.
It explained that fraudulent entities and individuals continue to exploit unsuspecting investors with deceptive promises of high returns, often leveraging the allure of digital assets to create a false sense of legitimacy.
“The public is strongly advised to be wary of investment opportunities that promise guaranteed or unusually high returns with little or no risk.
“These include unregistered platforms offering cryptocurrency investments, forex trading, or blockchain-based schemes, without undergoing the prescribed processes to obtain prior approval from the SEC.
“The SEC reiterates in this regard that, ‘If it sounds too good to be true, it likely is.’”
The Commission urged potential investors to conduct thorough due diligence before investing and to verify the registration status of the company or individual offering the investment through the SEC’s website.
The Commission explained that Section 196(3) of the Investments and Securities Act, 2025, criminalizes the promotion and operation of prohibited or unregistered schemes.
“This violation is punishable, upon conviction, by a fine of not less than ₦20 million or a prison term of 10 years, or both,” the Commission warned.
The SEC stated that it is fully committed to identifying and prosecuting offenders to the full extent of the law.
“We encourage the public to partner with the SEC to safeguard the integrity of the investment environment in Nigeria by promptly reporting suspected illegal investment schemes to the SEC,” the notice concluded.
The Nigerian federal government announced that the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) generated $49.5 million in revenue, with fintech companies contributing $18 million.
This fund, as reported by the Federation Account Allocation Committee, is a considerable 56.80 percent increase over the $31.6 million earned during the same period in 2024.
Previously, the charge mainly affected established banking institutions. However, fintech firms have been included because they have contributed a phenomenal 2,507.94 percent growth in transaction values since 2020.
The EMTL is part of the government’s attempt to regulate the booming fintech sector, which completed transactions worth $29 billion in 2023 and $49.3 billion in 2024.
The EMTL was created by the Finance Act 2020 as an amendment to the Stamp Duty Act. It charges $0.03 (N50) for electronic transactions of $6.19 (N10,000) or more made through banks and financial institutions.
This tax seeks to capitalise on the increasing expansion of electronic payments, which will exceed $619.70 billion in total transactions by 2024.
In response to the burgeoning fintech sector, the government has increased its tax base, with annual EMTL collections expected to increase by 31.35 percent.
According to the Medium Term Fiscal Framework for 2025-2027, the federal government expects EMTL revenue to reach $142 million in 2025, up from $108 million in 2024.
However, industry experts have expressed concern about the potential impact of additional taxes on users.
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