Colleagues, Friends, Associates, Others Hail Banmore at Posthumous Book Presentation

Ebere Nwoji

Family, colleagues, friends and associates, yesterday, gathered in Lagos, to celebrate the immediate past Managing Director of Staco Assurance Plc., Dr. Olawale Banmore, who passed on December 27, 2025, at a posthumous book presentation.

Renown journalist, Dr. Reuben Abati, who reviewed Banmore’s  book on insurance, quoted the deceased as saying, “Trust is the foundation of the insurance business to achieve sustainable  growth.”

The quote, an extract from the book, titled, “The Claims Advantage, How Smart Insurance Firms Win and Keep Customers,” was considered a professional advice by Banmore to his professional colleagues in the business of insurance in Nigeria.

Discussing the insurance business in Nigeria at the event held at the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos, Abati said the perception was that insurance firms were quick to collect premium but when it was time to pay claims, they came up with stories.

“When people do not trust insurers, why then should they buy insurance?” he asked, saying, this has affected the reputation of the insurance firms.

He, however, stated that when claims were processed smoothly, efficiently and in a trustworthy manner, the result would be customer satisfaction, increased customer acquisition in a business that relied heavily on word-of-mouth, stronger brand equity and market leadership.

Abati observed, “The author recognises that there are challenges, such as fraud and misrepresentation. Nigeria is a country where claimants try to exploit loopholes in the system, regulatory bottlenecks and bureaucratic hurdles, outdated claims processing systems, low financial literacy and misinterpretation of policies on the part of policy holders.”

He stated that for each of the challenges bedevilling insurance the business in Nigeria, Banmore’s book offered a multi-layered approach as solution and proposed a call for change as to how insurance firms handled claims.

According to Abati, this then becomes a practical manual on the how of the business, the nitty-gritty of claims management, how claims are planned to ensure efficiency and clear communication, claims control to prevent fraud especially the use of technology and AI- driven fraud detection systems.

In his tribute, chief host and Chairman, THISDAY Editorial Board, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, said Banmore passed at the early hours of December 27, 2025 at the age of 62.

Describing him as “Wale my cousin”, Adeniyi said he was a seasoned insurance professional with nearly three decades of experience.

Adeniyi said Banmore rose to the pinnacle of the insurance industry through grit, intellect, and uncommon resilience.

He previously held top leadership roles within the Royal Exchange Group, including Group Managing Director and Managing Director of Royal Exchange Prudential Life, Adeniyi stated.

Across these roles, he said Banmore was known for his strategic clarity, turnaround leadership, and deep understanding of risk, governance, and institutional reform.

He said Banmore held degrees from the University of Ibadan and went on even while battling prolonged illness to secure both MPhil and PhD in Strategic Marketing from Babcock University.

An insurance technocrat and one of Banmore’s professional friends, Bode Opadokun, a former Managing Director at Sanlam General Insurance, described Banmore as a very generous, modest, and exceptionally humble fellow, who cared for his friends unconditionally.

Chairman of the occasion and former Commissioner for Insurance during Banmore’s tenure as Managing Director of Royal Exchange Assurance, Alhaji Mohammed Kari, described him as somebody that had broken new grounds.