The NGX Insurance sector powered through 2025 with an impressive return of 65.64%, outperforming the broader All-Share Index, which gained 51.19%.
Tracked by its index, the sector gained 471.3 points, rising from 719.9 to close at 1,189.3 points and decisively breaking the 1,000-point barrier.
Only the NGX Consumer Goods sector posted a stronger performance, returning 129.57%.
Even so, 2025 was a solid year for insurance stocks, although it fell short of the sector’s exceptional 123% return in 2024, while Consumer Goods delivered 54% last year.
On a month-to-date basis, August emerged as the strongest month in 2025, advancing 44.30%.
The surge was largely driven by a positive market reaction to President Tinubu’s signing of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025, which promises stronger consumer protection, improved capital adequacy, and overall sector stability.
August’s rally pushed H2 2025 to become the year’s strongest half, up 57.42%, with the third quarter emerging as the standout period, rising over 57%.
This sector-wide performance was driven by strong gains in individual insurance stocks. Below are the top 10 performers behind the rally.
Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc claimed the second spot in 2025 with a remarkable 241.07% return. The stock rocketed from N1.12 at the start of the year to N3.82 by December, with trading activity exceeding 6 billion shares.
After falling to N1.00 in January and declining further to N0.96 by April, the stock posted a 19.64% gain in the first half, due to intermittent recoveries.
The second half told a stronger story. A solid rally from July through October lifted the stock to a high of N3.90. Although a sharp 30.77% correction followed in November, a powerful 41% rebound in December sealed a strong close at N3.82.
For the nine-month period, insurance revenue rose 20% to N40.1 billion from N33.4 billion. Sovereign Trust Insurance currently has a market capitalisation of N48 billion.
