Epicure Insurance Brokers Limited has outlined plans to expand its scope of services, accelerate digitisation and deepen insurance penetration in Nigeria as the company marks its 10th anniversary at a gala in Lagos.
Oyinpreye Aigbogun, managing director/CEO of Epicure Insurance Brokers, said the company’s next phase of growth would focus on expanding opportunities in the insurance market through stronger collaboration and the integration of insurance into different areas of financial services.
“We should expect a richer and wider scope of services, more digitisation and deeper insurance penetration in Nigeria,” Aigbogun said.
She noted that Nigeria’s insurance penetration remained low compared with some African countries, including South Africa and Ghana, presenting opportunities for insurance operators, regulators and industry advocates to expand coverage and improve public understanding of insurance.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done, and everyone has a role to play, especially the regulators and the other advocates in the industry,” she said.
According to her, collaboration would be central to the company’s strategy over the next decade, particularly in making insurance an integral part of financial services and everyday economic activities.
“So over the next 10 years, we’re going to look at more collaboration and how to embed insurance in as many types of services as possible. Without insurance, there is no life. Insurance is everything,” she said.
Aigbogun attributed the company’s longevity and growth over the past decade to its commitment to excellence, integrity, and consistently doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.
“The spirit of excellence, doing the right thing always, even when you think nobody’s watching,” she said, describing the principle as central to building trust and sustaining business relationships.
Reflecting on the milestone, she said the journey had been fulfilling because of the value the company had added to clients’ lives, while acknowledging that there remained considerable room for improvement and growth.
“What 10 years feels like is, there’s so much we’ve done but there’s so much more to do,” she said.
Obinnia Abajue, chairman of Epicure Insurance Brokers, also highlighted the importance of relationships, shared values and trust in building the company over the last decade.
In his welcome address at the anniversary gala, Abajue said the company’s journey had involved overcoming challenges while pursuing business opportunities and making decisions that aligned with its core values.
He explained that the founders had chosen to prioritise sustainable values over opportunities that did not reflect the kind of organisation they wanted to build.
“Along the way, we turned down opportunities that did not fit who we wanted to be in favour of values we believed were sustainable,” Abajue said.
According to him, unity of purpose and mutual support had helped the company navigate its early challenges and establish a foundation for future growth.
“We agreed that supporting each other mattered more than winning any argument. It meant we would either succeed and grow together, or fail together,” he said.
Looking ahead, Abajue said Epicure would remain committed to protecting its clients and the people and assets that mattered most to them, despite changes in the business environment.
“Epicure remains committed to protecting our clients and ensuring that the people and things that matter most to them remain protected, even as the world changes,” he said.
Ibrahim Zibiri, an entrepreneur and long-standing Epicure client who delivered the keynote address, emphasised the importance of profitability, human capital, strong business foundations and adaptability in ensuring that businesses survive and grow in challenging economic conditions.
He argued that profitability was necessary for businesses to reinvest in the structures required for long-term sustainability, while stressing that employees remained central to achieving those objectives.
“Your most important asset will be your people,” Zibiri said, urging business leaders to invest in developing the skills and capabilities required to sustain their organisations.
He also highlighted the need for businesses to adapt to technological changes, including artificial intelligence, while ensuring that employees possessed the expertise to use such tools effectively.
On insurance, Zibiri drew from his own experience as a customer of Epicure, explaining that the company had helped arrange cover for machinery, personal valuables and other business assets.
He recounted instances involving accidents, claims and machinery breakdowns at mining sites, saying Epicure had helped resolve the associated insurance issues.
His remarks underscored the role of insurance in helping businesses manage operational risks and protect assets against unexpected losses.
In a goodwill message, Atedo Peterside, founder of IBTC (now Stanbic IBTC Bank), commended Epicure for reaching its 10-year milestone, noting the challenges involved in sustaining a business over a decade, particularly in the insurance sector.
He encouraged the company to maintain the structures, business model, ideas and practices that had supported its growth, while continuing to build on the foundations established over the past 10 years.
Epicure is a leading insurance and reinsurance broker in Nigeria, offering customer support services in general, life, health and specialist risk insurance.
Modestus Anaesoronye is a leading Nigerian financial journalist with over two decades of experience reporting on the insurance and pension sectors across Nigeria and West Africa. He has held key editorial positions at major national media outlets, including The Comet, The Nation, and Financial Standard, and currently serves as a Senior Financial Analyst at BusinessDay Media Ltd. A widely travelled reporter, he has covered industry developments in more than 14 countries across Africa and Asia. Anaesoronye is a multiple award-winning journalist, honoured several times as Insurance Journalist of the Year and Pension Journalist of the Year by recognised industry bodies, including PensionScope and the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), among others.
