AI Collaboration Urged to Drive Innovation and Improve Insurance Access in Nigeria
Former Hilal MD Thaibat Adeniran urges insurers to collaborate on AI investments to reduce costs and improve efficiency. She highlights Nigeria’s low insurance rates and calls for AI-driven customer service.
Ex-Hilal Boss Advocates for AI Collaboration in Insurance
23rd June 2025
Source: www.jphotostyle.com
Mrs Thaibat Adeniran, former Managing Director of Hilal Takaful Insurance, has urged insurance companies to partner up to share the financial burden of investing in artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies. She made this appeal during a panel discussion at the 2025 Artificial Intelligence Conference hosted by SuperNews, themed ‘Power of AI: Enhancing Efficiency and Customer Satisfaction for Better Financial Services Experience’.
Adeniran emphasized that collaboration could help companies pool resources, making the adoption of AI more affordable and effective. She stated, “If a single insurance company cannot handle it, join as a consortium so that the financial implications on a single company will not be too much. Instead of that, some insurance companies will be competing, but we don’t need that right now. What we require is for us to come together, build the industry, and the industry will drive the market.”
Highlighting the low insurance penetration in Nigeria, Adeniran expressed concern that less than one percent of the population is insured, compared to much higher rates in developed countries where insurance is often automated and mandatory. She encouraged the sector to start integrating AI in customer service without delay, asking, “What stops us from putting customer service under AI?”
Industry Leaders Call for Innovation and Cooperation
Adeniran’s call aligns with the views of Kunle Ahmed, Chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association. Ahmed has previously urged the industry to innovate, especially in claims processing and payment, stressing that working individually can be costly, but industry-wide cooperation reduces expenses and maximizes impact.
At a recent media briefing, Ahmed highlighted the potential of emerging technologies including AI, blockchain, big data, and the Internet of Things to improve efficiency and customer experience. He also cautioned that these technologies bring challenges that require agility and strategic planning.
Ahmed pointed out the need for the insurance sector to embrace digital transformation to stay relevant. He posed key questions for insurers to consider:
- How can technology help us better understand and serve our customers?
- How can data-driven decision-making be improved?
- How can we deliver a seamless digital experience that exceeds customer expectations?
For insurance professionals interested in exploring AI and technology courses relevant to the finance and insurance sectors, resources like Complete AI Training’s finance AI tools offer practical learning paths.
With insurance penetration still low and operational efficiency under pressure, cooperation among insurers in adopting AI could be the key to transforming the industry and meeting customer needs more effectively.
