Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc is stepping up efforts to attract young Nigerians into the insurance profession through sustained partnerships with universities, student development programmes and financial incentives aimed at rewarding academic excellence.
The initiative reflects the growing need for fresh talent, diverse perspectives and improved professional capacity in an insurance industry undergoing significant regulatory and structural changes following the introduction of higher capital requirements and reforms.
As part of the commitment, the insurer recently rewarded Adeyemi Adeshola Kehinde, the best graduating student of the Department of Risk Management and Insurance at Lagos State University (LASU), with N500,000.
Kehinde, who graduated with a cumulative grade point average of 4.65 out of 5.00, received the award in recognition of his outstanding academic performance.
Speaking at the presentation, Adaobi Nwakuche, managing director/CEO of Veritas Kapital Assurance, said the award fulfilled a commitment she had made to support the department and its student association.
Nwakuche, who was represented by Arinze Adigwe, the company’s head of marketing and corporate communications, said the initiative was part of the insurer’s longstanding engagement with the university’s insurance community.
She explained that the company had pledged to reward the department’s best graduating student annually, describing the intervention as part of a broader strategy to promote insurance education and encourage young Nigerians to consider the profession as a viable career.
According to her, Veritas Kapital’s support for insurance education extends beyond LASU to other institutions, including Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, and the University of Lagos.
The company also organised a nationwide university competition in the 2022/2023 academic session to stimulate interest in insurance-related activities. The University of Lagos, University of Ilorin and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, produced the top three participants, respectively.
Nwakuche said the company’s engagement with educational institutions was a continuing commitment rather than a one-off corporate social responsibility activity, adding that it remained open to partnerships with universities willing to promote insurance education.
‘We will definitely partner with schools that are ready to partner with us,’ she said.
She noted that attracting young people into the profession was increasingly important as the industry navigates reforms, embraces new business models and responds to changing market expectations.
Bringing younger professionals into insurance, she said, would introduce fresh ideas and diverse perspectives capable of supporting the industry’s transformation and long-term development.
The intervention comes at a time when Nigeria’s insurance industry is seeking to strengthen its capacity, improve public confidence and expand its contribution to the economy. Beyond financial capital and regulatory compliance, the sector needs a steady pipeline of skilled professionals who can support underwriting, risk management, actuarial services, claims administration, technology and customer engagement.
The availability of such talent will be important as insurers reposition their businesses to take advantage of opportunities created by the ongoing reforms and the growing demand for more sophisticated risk management solutions.
Speaking at the event, Dansu Shewhenu Francis, acting head of the Department of Risk Management and Insurance at LASU, described the department’s annual insurance summit as an important platform for promoting professional development and student participation in the industry.
He said the department continued to encourage its student association to organise the programme, providing institutional support to ensure its success.
Francis expressed appreciation to Veritas Kapital for its consistent assistance, noting that the company had continued to respond whenever the department sought its support.
For Kehinde, the N500,000 award represents both financial encouragement and recognition of the effort invested in his academic journey.
He said the recognition would motivate him to work harder and encourage other students to pursue academic excellence, adding that its significance extended beyond the monetary value.