Mutual Benefit Assurance to Focus on Retail Insurance Market For Growth

Ebere Nwoji

Mutual Benefit Assurance Plc said going forward, it would focus efforts on growing its retail market as part of its overall growth strategy.

The Chairman of the company, Dr Akin Ogunbiyi stated this while addressing guests at the 30th anniversary/ annual thanksgiving service of the company held in Lagos recently.
Ogunbiyi said ahead of June deadline for recapitalisation of insurance firms in the system Mutual Benefit has already exceeded the industry’s recapitalisation requirements and is currently on growth track.

According him, the retail segment remains largely untapped and presents significant opportunities for sustainable expansion as such his company has decided to lead the way in harnessing the huge opportunities in the retail market.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the event, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, of Mutual Benefit, Mr. Olufemi Asenuga, said the company had strategically positioned itself to meet recapitalisation requirements long before the enactment of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act 2025.
According to him, despite multiple regulatory directives issued over the past five years, Mutual Benefits had already surpassed the required capital thresholds of N10 billion for Life insurance and N15 billion for General insurance.

“By 2020, we had already complied with the initial directives. Today, we have not only met the minimum requirements, we have exceeded them for both the holding company and the Life business,” he said.

He added that the company’s current focus had shifted from regulatory compliance to injecting additional liquidity aimed at driving aggressive business growth.

He said the group’s regional subsidiaries were also contributing to performance, adding that its Niger Republic operation has grown to become the country’s second-largest insurer and was positioned to become the market leader following the exit of several francophone competitors.

He said while the company remained open to mergers and acquisitions, management knew inorganic expansion was not a priority at this time. Asenuga cited past integration challenges, including those experienced after the acquisition of Worldwide Insurance in 2007, as reasons for the cautious approach.

He said the company had planned to revive its microinsurance business through technology-driven distribution. According to the CEO, high operating and distribution costs had previously limited growth in the segment, but a new digital rollout is expected to address those challenges.

He said the 30-year anniversary and thanksgiving celebration also underscored the resilience of indigenous insurance firms operating in a challenging economic environment marked by policy uncertainty and currency fluctuations.

Reflecting on past hurdles, the Chairman Ogunbiyi recalled how the company survived a liquidity crisis in 2020 through a $10 million capital injection from U.S.-based investors and successfully resolved a debt dispute through litigation in London.

“It has not been easy for a company to remain standing after 30 years, especially in an economy defined by volatility and uncertainty,” Asenuga said.