Funmi Babington-Ashaye: An Underwriter With A Touch Of Gold

Mrs Funmi Babington-Ashaye is the managing director/ CEO of Risk Analyst Insurance Brokers Limited, a company he founded.

Her professional insurance career spans accross more than 33 years and her reputation within the industry is unparalleled.

Babington-Ashaye was the former managing director/chief executive of Cornerstone Insurance Plc and NICON Insurance Plc, holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. She is an Alumnus of Lagos Business School and a Fellow of both the Chartered Insurance Institute both of Nigeria and United Kingdom. In addition, she is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Insurance Brokers.

In 2017 she became President/Chairman of the Council of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria.

Aside from her existing directorial responsibilities, Babington-Ashaye acts as a consultant/broker to numerous clients including Aero Contractors (a state-controlled Nigerian airline company) and Arik Air on their aviation insurance portfolios, negotiating policy terms through insurance and reinsurance firms including UK-based AON and Willis Towers Watson, Lockton UK etc. She also has experience prospecting international oil companies such as NNPC as her company has a NIPEX certificate, allowing her to accrue significant experience with special risk insurance policies.

As the managing director  of Risk Analyst Insurance Brokers, Babington-Ashaye has been instrumental in setting the strategic direction for the company. She manages the relationship between the company and its stakeholders and is also responsible for overseeing, technical, marketing strategy as well as relationship management.

Between 1987 and 1991, Babington-Ashaye was employed by Royal Exchange Assurance within their underwriting and claims department. She gained valuable expertise underwriting all classes of insurance including general accident, burglary and money, as well as fidelity guarantees. During the ‘90s and ‘00s she attended a plethora of industry courses and seminars including Senior Management Programme at Lagos Business School and Finance for Senior Executives at Harvard Business School. Her qualifications include a Masters in Entrepreneurship from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA).

Prior to working with Risk Analyst Insurance Brokers, Babington-Ashaye worked as managing director of Cornerstone Insurance, a leading public insurance underwriter in Nigeria. In addition to managing company strategy and co-ordinating the marketing and technical divisions, she directly supervised the reinsurance unit as well as the special risks department that managed oil and gas and aviation sector insurance policies.

Babington-Ashaye is also an author, in 2017 she published a book titled “Insurance in Practice –All you need to need about Insurance in Nigeria”.

Her Philosophies

On being an entrepreneur, having worked for several organisations, she said:

“There are challenges, but when you are focussed, dedicated and determined, you will scale through all the hurdles. Looking back, I thank God how far He has helped me.

“I’m a very passionate person. If I believe in anything, I put in everything to make it work. In fact, I do tell people that since I started here, it’s as if I’m not working because when I was on the other side, I put in so much. Then, sometimes I had to work late into the night. But starting this company, I’m not burdened because once you are used to hard work, you don’t believe that there is a challenge you can’t overcome.”

Being a woman determined to excel in a corporate world, she said, is a challenge.

“So, the challenge I faced most was that people rarely believed in me as a woman. People sometimes think women won’t be able to deliver. It’s a major challenge and as a female, you have to do a lot for you to be recognised and given the opportunity to express yourself. I must say it’s tough for women.  As a woman, you have a home to run apart from work, meaning you have to work much more than a man,” she pointed out.