The organisers of the 2024 Annual Almond Insurance Industry Awards have promised to reward exceptional companies and individuals who were contributing to deepening insurance penetration in the country.
The 2024 Awards expected to hold on Friday November 1, 2024 in Victoria Island, Lagos, has nominations for the award opened to the insurance stakeholders to vote their choices insurance firms and operators through Almond website between May 24 and June 2024.
Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos recently, the chairman of the award Panel of Judges, who was the immediate past secretary general of the African Insurance Organisation (AIO), Ms Prisca Soares, said the awards is aimed at rewarding the ‘Can Do Spirit’ of the men and women in the various arms of the Nigerian Insurance Industry who daily push boundaries to sell Insurance despite apathy and low purchasing power of the people.
Stating that the 2024 edition tagged #Reinvent Edition, will once again bring together policy makers, insurance practitioners, top rated entertainers in music and comedy, para military and the insuring public in an atmosphere of fun and relaxation, the chief executive officer(CEO) of Almond Productions Limited, Ms. Faith Ughwode, said innovations have been introduced in the entire process of the awards this year so as to put the Nigerian Insurance Industry on a new pedestrian.
According to her, “while insurance awareness and penetration is still low, insurance practitioners are making steady gains by way of gross premium income which has hit N1 trillion as at the end of 2023. Given the overwhelming support and participation from all arms of the Industry last year, the 2024 awards categories has been streamlined to meet with international standards.”
Some categories, she disclosed, have been dropped and others introduced to engender inclusivity.
The shortlisted categories this year, she listed, are: Insurance CEO of the year; Insurance Woman of the year (Insurer or Broker); Life Insurance Company of the year; General Insurance Company of the year; Insurance Broker of the year; Insurance Broking Company of the year; Takaful Company of the year; Micro Insurance Company of the year and the Most valuable Insurance Customer of the year.
She listed Non-Voting Categories to include; Insurance Life Achievers Award (Insurer or Broker) and Special Recognition Award 2024 (Within and Outside the Industry).
These shortlisted categories, she noted, were painstakingly chosen to reflect the current composition of the Nigerian Insurance Industry, adding that, to ensure the integrity and transparency of the awards, the entire process as always from nominations, voting, selection is driven by data and technology.
“It’s a web based process. People can only nominate and vote for their choice via the website:https://almondinsuranceindustryawards.com. The website is foolproof so it is those who deserve to win that will emerge at the end of the entire process,” she noted.
She listed the panellists who were carefully chosen to include: Risk Management and Insurance Specialist, Senior Lecturer, Department of Actuarial Science and Insurance, University of Lagos, Dr. Jide Fadun; an insurance expert/ researcher, Obinna Chilekezie; Group Head, Financial Risk/Insurance Dangote Group, Obashola Alo and Assistant Director, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Rasaaq Salami, even as Hon. Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade, the 15th Chief Judge of Lagos State, has been admitted into the panel of judges.
While imploring members of the public to visit the awards website to nominate and vote for their choice, she urged insurers and brokers to nominate their loyal customers for ‘the most valuable insurance customer award’ this year, as clients needs encouragement to do more.
