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
Ifesinachi Okoli-Okpagu serves as Chief Marketing Officer at Heirs Insurance Group, where she leads the marketing, communications, and brand strategy for the group’s insurance businesses.
With more than 15 years of experience across technology, financial services, hospitality, media, philanthropy, and energy, she has built a strong reputation for driving business growth and brand transformation in emerging markets.
She also holds the role of Group Chief Marketing Officer for the retail portfolio of Heirs Holdings, where she oversees marketing strategy across several group companies, including United Capital Plc, Avon HMO, Avon Medical Practice, Heirs Technologies, Redtech, and Africa Prudential Plc.
She previously served as Group Head of Marketing Communications across the Heirs Holdings portfolio, covering companies such as Transcorp Group and Heirs Energies. She also worked as Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications at Tony Elumelu Foundation, where she helped drive visibility for programmes supporting African entrepreneurs.
Okoli-Okpagu holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fine and Applied Arts from the University of Benin and a Master’s degree in Marketing Communications from the School of Media and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University.
She also earned a doctorate from ISC Paris and completed a certificate programme in Disruptive Strategy at Harvard Business School Online.
