Reuben Abati
Claims advantage, claims settlement, claims management, claims processing: these are definitely familiar terms to those involved in the business of insurance, especially policyholders who seek to minimize risk, and manage uncertainties, by saving for the rainy day with the insurer whose main task is to take on large risks in exchange for otherwise small premiums. We live, inevitably, in a world of risks and uncertainties and as the world becomes more problematic with crises unpredictable either in business or personal lives, so does the role of insurance become more important. Insurance provides the individual with a safety net when life takes an unexpected turn, it is the art of preparedness, an act of hope, with the relationship between the insurer and the insured at the very centre of a significant interraction.
In this book, ‘The Claims Advantage: How Smart Insurance Firms Win and Keep Customers,’ the author, Dr. Olawale Banmore argues that claims matter, and explains why, and how claims can be managed efficiently and professionally to secure a competitive advantage.
When the unpredictable happens, a car that runs into an accident, a house that burns, a container that gets stuck at sea, in let’s say the Strait of Hormuz, as a result of conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States, sudden death in the family, the policyholder, or the beneficiary runs to the insurance company in the expectation that his or her claims will be settled to confer necessary leverage in the face of adversity.
Exactly how this process is managed is the single most critical determinant of customer trust, the reputation of the firm involved, its credibility, market share, and its success or failure. Trust deficit is thereby the biggest threat to the insurance industry in Nigeria and elsewhere. In a very competitive environment and business such as insurance, claims management is “the ultimate battleground” where the success or failure of an insurance firm is determined. Dr. Banmore discusses how insurance firms can achieve excellence in claims management: the challenges and the strategies.
This is the book of a theorist and a practitioner who combines theory with practical illustrations of what can be done better, making his writing all the more relatable to both insiders and outsiders to the art of insurance.
As he puts it: “Nigeria’s insurance industry stands at a critical inflection point. The challenges are real, deep-seated…However, the opportunities are equally substantial…It is my hope that this book serves as both a wake- up call and a practical guide: a wake-up call to the urgency of transforming claims management from its current state of dysfunction to a level befitting a modern, customer-focused industry; and a practical guide offering concrete strategies, proven methodologies, and actionable recommendations that can be implemented immediately to drive measurable improvements.” (p. 15). This is precisely what Dr. Banmore offers: how Nigeria’s insurance business with a penetration rate around 0.5% of GDP, far below the global average and its market potential, can be re-awakened on a sustainable basis as a strategic driver of economic development.
The book is divided into six chapters, running into 116 pages with a comprehensive and explanatory focus on How Insurance Claims are handled and why this matters, the performance of insurance firms and the claims advantage, the role of government policy and marketing in claims management, claims management in crisis situations, research findings and industry insights as well as future trends. Dr. Banmore writes with the authority of a scholar and a man of practical experience. His profile speaks for him, as eloquently as his writing.
With a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree from the University of Ibadan, he also obtained an M.Phil and a Ph.D from Babcock University Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State.
In his professional journey in insurance, he worked with UNIC Insurance Plc, and moved on to First Chartered Insurance Co, Ltd., (where he became a Director in charge of West Regional), and later, Royal Exchange Plc where he spent 17 years, before becoming Managing Director, Royal Exchange Prudential Life Plc (2011 -2018) and Group Managing Director, Royal Exchange Plc (now REX Insurance) (2018 – 2020). He also later served as the Managing Director, STACO Insurance Plc (2022 -2025). Insurance was his life. This book is his legacy. He writes about a subject at the very core, indeed the raison d’etre of insurance, and in so doing he covers the field in a prose that is accessible and reader-friendly, completely shorn of jargons.
The Claims Advantage can be reviewed by simply reporting a number of quotable quotes from the book, of which there are many, but for the purpose of this review, it is perhaps advisable to focus on a few highlights. In discussing the fundamentals of claims management for example, the author notes that “trust is the foundation of the insurance business to achieve sustainable growth”. (p. 17).
Indeed, in Nigeria, the perception is that insurance firms are quick to collect premiums but when it is time to pay claims, they come up with stories. When people do not trust insurers, why then should they buy insurance?
The reputation of the insurance firm is affected, but when claims are processed smoothly, efficiently and in a trustworthy manner, the result is customer satisfaction, increased customer acquisition in a business that relies heavily on word-of-mouth, stronger brand equity and market leadership.
The author recognises that there are challenges: fraud and misrepresentation, Nigeria is a country where claimants try to exploit loopholes in the system; regulatory bottlenecks and bureaucratic hurdles; outdated claims processing systems; low financial literacy and misinterpretation of policies on the part of policyholders.
But for every challenge, the book offers a multi-layered approach as a solution, and proposes a call for change as to how insurance firms handle claims. This then becomes a practical manual on the how of the business, the nitty-gritty of claims management: how claims are planned to ensure efficiency and clear communication, claims control to prevent fraud, especially the use of technology and AI-driven fraud detection systems, claims monitoring and evaluation, claims payment in a speedy, fair, reliable, transparent and timely manner, and how technology can be leveraged at every stage.
In Chapter Three, the author discusses how the firm stands to gain multiple advantages if it learns to innovate and modernise, and deliver greater efficiency and satisfaction to its customers. Chapter Four discusses “the role of government policy and marketing in claims management.” The insurance industry in Nigeria is regulated, supervised and controlled by the National Insurance Commission, established by the NAICOM Act of 1997. The question that this author raises and addresses is how an insurance firm strikes a balance between compliance with regulatory requirements and customers’ claims, which he identifies as “a delicate balance” (p. 67). But even more interesting is the discussion of claims management in crisis situations in Chapter Five. Pandemics, natural disasters, and economic downturns occur when they would, such as floods, COVID-19, and hurricanes with a direct impact on claims processing. These disasters are often unforeseeable but when they occur, policyholders may look up to the insurer for relief. The author recommends this: “To pandemic-proof the Nigerian insurance sector, firms must rethink policy structuring and risk modelling” (p. 72). He also expects regulatory bodies like NAICOM to collaborate with insurers in such circumstances.
He further recommends what he calls “parametric insurance” (p. 74) and “predictive analytics, automation and transparent communication” (p. 82. In subsequent pages, the author provides a summary of his own conclusions and findings, making this a well-rounded contribution. The book ends with a page of photographs showing different faces of the author, as a Ph.D holder, as a member of the National Youth Service Corps, and one photograph projecting him as a fan of Arsenal FC, the English Premier League club that may nearly win the League Cup in 2026. An index is missing in the book, but the author’s message is well delivered: the values of trust, clear communication, innovation, adaptation, the leveraging of technology, customer-centricity, efficiency, and ethical service delivery as pillars of sustainable insurance business in an increasingly competitive eco-system where crisis is inevitable and reputations are fragile. The author writes about the skepticism of the average Nigerian about the Nigerian industry, but he overlooks the challenge of culture and superstition. What level of education can ever reduce the people’s superstitious belief that God is forever in charge, the received wisdom that His will is supreme, and their fatalism, which must be perhaps the biggest challenge faced by the insurance industry in Nigeria.
And how about NAICOM and its efficiency in dealing with customer complaints about unpaid claims, the obvious weakness of its supervisory role, and the menace of fake insurance policies? The author is studiously silent on these issues. This book is interesting for one other reason. It was written by Dr. Olawale Banmore, before his death in December 2025. It has now been published posthumously, as an act of remembrance, a legacy project, a memorial, a labour of duty and respect. In a blurb to the book, Olusegun Adeniyi, a cousin of the author, salutes the author’s courage and resilience: after his diagnosis for prostate cancer in 2019, that was when Dr. Banmore went ahead to enroll for a Ph.D programme which he completed, and also sat down to write a book. This book speaks to a man’s defiance in the face of death, clear attestation to the fact that ideas live, brilliant ideas defy the bounds of mortality, the graveyard is a living, social space, part of the community, where conversations can still be heard across the gates. Ms. Doyinsola Wale-Banmore, the author’s daughter writes a moving preface to this book in which she pays tribute to her father and acknowledges friends and family. But the main tribute to be paid is for this book to be promoted and read by all and sundry. It is hereby recommended for your attention
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