The Africa Reinsurance Corporation Foundation has backed a two-day journalism workshop aimed at improving media coverage of insurance, risk management and financial resilience in Nigeria.
The workshop, organised by Insurance Publication Limited (IPL), is scheduled for September 15-16, 2026, under the theme, ‘The Universe of Insurance and Journalism: Risk Everywhere, in Everything.’
The programme is expected to bring together journalists from different beats to explore how insurance and risk can be incorporated into reporting on issues ranging from climate change, politics and cybercrime to health, agriculture, transport, housing and economic hardship.
The organisers said the initiative was designed to move insurance reporting beyond specialised business and insurance desks and make risk management a broader part of everyday journalism.
They noted that low public awareness of insurance remains a major challenge, limiting the ability of individuals and businesses to protect themselves against economic shocks and other risks.
The workshop will feature opening remarks from Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, while the Commissioner for Insurance, Olusegun Omosehin, and the Director-General of the National Health Insurance Authority, Dr Kelechi Ohiri, are expected to provide industry and policy perspectives.
Other speakers include Dr Femi Oyetunji, Chairman, Board of Directors, SanlamAllianz Life Insurance Nigeria Limited; Professor Ismail Ibraheem of the University of Lagos; Dr Omogbai Omo-Eboh, a maritime and insurance lawyer; and Augustine Aipoh.
Oyetunji is expected to examine Nigeria’s insurance gap, the risks carried by individuals and businesses and the economic opportunities associated with improved insurance penetration.
Ibraheem, the theme speaker, will focus on what ‘risk everywhere, in everything’ means for journalists, while Omo-Eboh will address legal issues confronting investigative journalists reporting on high-risk industries, including defamation claims and Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.
According to IPL, the workshop is also intended to equip journalists with practical tools for reporting risk without turning news stories into product advertisements.
The organisers said journalists would be encouraged to examine how insurance thinking could improve reporting of insecurity, economic hardship and systemic failures by focusing not only on losses but also on prevention, protection and accountability.
The programme follows the completion of the insurance industry’s recapitalisation exercise and the introduction of a new legal framework, providing an opportunity for closer engagement between the media and the industry.
IPL said key elements of the wider initiative would include beat-specific training, a digital learning platform, journalist toolkits and a monitoring framework, with implementation being advanced in partnership with stakeholders including the Nigerian Union of Journalists.
The organisation expects the initiative to generate wider public engagement with insurance issues, encourage policy discussions on risk management and, ultimately, contribute to higher insurance uptake.
Africa Re Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of the African Reinsurance Corporation, supports initiatives in areas including insurance and risk awareness, health, education, disaster recovery, technology, research and community development.
The African Reinsurance Corporation is marking its 50th anniversary this year and has also reached the $1billion milestone in premiums.