Nigeria’s insurance industry, despite historically low penetration compared with banking and fintech, has continued to expand in recent years.
According to Nairametrics, Nigeria’s insurance companies held total assets of about N4.6 trillion by mid-2025, a sign of rising investments and stronger balance sheets across the industry.
At the same time, gross premium generation has continued to climb, with insurers recording N769.2 billion in premiums in the first quarter of 2025 alone, one of the strongest quarterly performances on record.
This shows that while insurance still lags behind other financial sectors in scale, its growth trajectory is steadily improving.
Within this evolving landscape, some women are increasingly shaping the direction of the industry.
From executive leadership, underwriting and actuarial services to risk management, female professionals are gaining influence in a sector.
In celebration of International Women’s Day, here are the influential female C-suite executives in Nigeria’s insurance industry.
Here are the women leading the Nigerian insurance sector
Funmi Babington-Ashaye is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Risk Analyst Insurance Brokers Limited.
Before her current role, Babington-Ashaye held leadership positions as Managing Director and CEO at Cornerstone Insurance Plc and NICON Insurance Plc, where she played key roles in shaping operational strategy and corporate growth. She has over three and a half decades of experience across Nigeria’s insurance industry.
Babington-Ashaye is a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria and the Chartered Insurance Institute, as well as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Insurance Brokers and the Institute of Directors Nigeria. She holds a Master’s in Entrepreneurship from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is an alumna of the Lagos Business School.
Babington-Ashaye has also served as President and Chairman of the Council of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria. She also holds an honorary doctorate in Leadership and Community Development from ESAE Benin University and is a Doctoral Fellow of the International Certified Risk Management Professionals, UK.
