By Henry Uche
The Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) at the weekend honoured and celebrated outstanding contributions from government agencies, teachers and students who have excelled in promoting insurance education in Nigeria.
At the grand finale of the CIIN Insurance Week and awards ceremony held in Lagos, a staff member of NEM Insurance Plc, Mr Oduh Sunday, won the 2026/2027 CIIN Ambassador Contest with a cash prize of ₦1.5 million, making him the new ambassador of the insurance industry.
The CIIN Insurance Week 2026 ran from May 15 to 22, in a landmark eight-day programme of public engagement, industry dialogue, education and celebration.
The ambassador contest tests participants’ knowledge of the industry and their ability to execute insurance awareness projects.
However, Okunnu Abdulrasheed Adekunle from Noor Takaful Insurance Limited won a ₦1 million cash prize as first runner-up, while his counterpart from the same company, Ms Odeniyan Oluwatosin Comfort, emerged second runner-up with a ₦750,000 cash prize.
In other categories of awards presented, the Police Service Commission won the Best Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) award, while Akunyili Samuel Chukwukadibia won an award for being the Best Insurance Student in the WAEC examination.
The teacher of the award-winning WAEC student, Mr Awotoruvie Randy Kemi, was also honoured, even as six secondary schools with the highest numbers of student enrolment in Insurance were recognised.
The schools include Ijaiye Ojokoro Senior High School, Ojokoro, Ogun State; Badagry Senior Grammar School, Badagry, Lagos State; Saint Peter’s College, Olomore, Ogun State; Egba High School, Asero, Ogun State; Methodist Comprehensive College, Sagamu, Ogun State; and Ebenezer Grammar School, Iberekodo, Ogun State.
Ogun State emerged as the best state with the highest number of students enrolled in insurance at WAEC.
Earlier, the InsurScenario Team had won the 2026 CIIN InsurQuest Hackathon ahead of five other contenders, which included CoverBot, Mediclaim AI, Team Topsborg, Team Nexus and The Risk Architects.
The hackathon, now in its second edition with a larger and more diverse cohort of young innovators from across Nigeria, was designed to deepen youth awareness of the insurance industry and inspire the next generation of insurance innovators.
The programme introduces participants to real industry challenges while showcasing insurance as a dynamic space for innovation, technology, entrepreneurship and impact.
Over the past month, participants engaged in intensive masterclasses, practical workshops and mentorship sessions focused on developing technology-driven solutions to real challenges facing the Nigerian insurance industry.
Guided by experienced industry professionals, the teams explored themes including inclusive insurance, data and AI, customer experience, and ESG and sustainability while building functional prototypes ready for market pilots.
All participating teams pitched their solutions during the InsurQuest Demo Day held on 21 May 2026 at the College of Insurance and Financial Management, Asese, where the InsurScenario Team came out on top.
Speaking at the ceremony, CIIN President Mrs Yetunde Ilori said she piloted the Insurance Week to serve as a platform that unites every arm of the insurance industry, enhances public engagement and industry dialogue, and boosts insurance awareness and education, among others.
Now in its second edition, she said the Insurance Week has come to stay as the most significant collective effort by the Nigerian insurance industry to deepen public awareness, promote insurance adoption and celebrate industry excellence.
While urging her successor to keep the momentum alive, she expressed belief that the week-long event can become a significant platform to take insurance operations and acceptance to a higher level in a move to deepen penetration above the current one per cent in the near future.
She applauded everyone who supported the programme, saying, “Your support is not taken for granted. To every contestant, whether you win or not, you must continue to preach the gospel of insurance and be great ambassadors of the industry.”
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