The Africa Reinsurance Corporation is backing a major media engagement aimed at changing the way insurance, risk and financial protection are reported in Nigeria, as journalists prepare to examine the country’s persistent insurance awareness gap.
The two-day workshop, organised by Insurance Publication Ltd (IPL) and sponsored by the Africa Re Foundation (ARF), is expected to bring together journalists and industry stakeholders to explore how insurance and risk can become part of mainstream reporting across different beats.
The workshop, themed “The Universe of Insurance and Journalism: Risk Everywhere, in Everything,” will hold from September 15 to 16, 2026, with a focus on equipping media practitioners to report insurance beyond conventional product-based coverage.
Ahead of the programme, journalists scheduled to participate have raised questions about how the concept of risk and insurance can be applied to everyday reporting on issues including climate change, politics, cybercrime, insecurity, economic hardship, healthcare, agriculture and infrastructure.
Among the questions being examined is how journalists can practically use insurance and risk as a reporting lens without turning their stories into advertisements for financial products.
Participants are also seeking to identify the insurance and risk concepts journalists should understand in 2026 to make their reporting more credible, analytical and solutions-oriented.
Another major area of interest is how “insurance thinking” can help journalists report insecurity and economic hardship by examining not only the damage caused by crises, but also the mechanisms that can protect individuals, businesses and governments from future losses.
Journalists to examine insurance as accountability issue
One of the key questions directed at Professor Ismail Ibraheem, Professor of Journalism and Communications Studies at the University of Lagos, focuses on the disconnect between insurance and mainstream journalism.
“Professor, insurance cuts across virtually every aspect of society, yet it remains one of the least-understood sectors in Nigerian journalism. How can journalists move beyond reporting insurance as a product and begin to investigate it as a major risk-management and accountability issue?” participants asked.
The question reflects a broader concern that insurance stories in Nigeria have traditionally remained concentrated within specialist insurance and pensions desks, despite the sector’s connection to virtually every part of the economy.
The workshop is therefore designed to encourage journalists covering education, health, transportation, housing, agriculture, business, politics, technology and the environment to incorporate questions of risk, protection and financial resilience into their reporting.
Media law and protection of investigative journalists
Legal risks associated with investigative journalism will also feature prominently at the programme.
Dr Omogbai Omo-Eboh, a maritime and insurance lawyer, is expected to address the legal challenges confronting journalists investigating high-stakes sectors such as insurance and finance.
Among the questions requiring attention is how media law and insurance regulatory frameworks can evolve together to provide stronger protection for journalists reporting systemic failures in corporations and government institutions.
Participants are particularly interested in the increasing exposure of investigative journalists to legal threats, including defamation claims and Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), especially when reporting on issues involving substantial financial and institutional risks.
The discussion is expected to explore the balance between responsible investigative reporting, corporate accountability, freedom of expression and legal protection for journalists.
Africa Re Foundation backs broader insurance awareness
The programme comes at a significant period for Nigeria’s insurance industry, following recent regulatory and capital-market developments, including the industry’s recapitalisation exercise and changes to the legal and regulatory framework governing insurance operations.
IPL said the engagement with journalists is part of a broader effort to expand public understanding of insurance and risk management.
The organisation argues that low public awareness of insurance contributes to vulnerability and can undermine economic resilience, while journalists, as influential sources of public information, can play a critical role in improving financial literacy.
“Through Africa Re’s support, we are continuing engagement with journalists this September. We are set to seize the moment and crystallise a broader insurance and risk awareness era in the country and elsewhere in Africa,” the organisation said.
The initiative is expected to move insurance reporting beyond specialised industry coverage and into mainstream newsrooms and digital platforms.
Its broader objective is to normalise public conversations around insurance, encourage greater understanding and uptake of insurance products, and contribute to stronger risk-management discussions at federal and state levels.
Sanwo-Olu, Omosehin, Ohiri expected at workshop
The programme will feature opening remarks from Lagos State Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, while Commissioner for Insurance Olusegun Omosehin is expected to provide insights from the perspective of insurance regulation.
The Director-General of the National Health Insurance Authority, Dr Kelechi Ohiri, will also provide perspectives on health insurance and its implications for Nigerians.
Other speakers include Dr Femi Oyetunji, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SanlamAllianz Life Insurance Nigeria Ltd, who will address the country’s insurance gap under the topic: “Nigeria’s Insurance Gap: The Risks We Carry, the Protection We Ignore and the Economic Opportunities We Are Missing, Why Should Journalists Care?”
Professor Ismail Ibraheem will serve as the theme speaker, addressing what “Risk Everywhere, in Everything” means for journalists and how the concept can reshape news reporting.
Dr Omogbai Omo-Eboh, the lead speaker, and Augustine Aipoh are also expected to examine the scale of risk Nigerians carry without adequate protection.
IPL targets mainstream media coverage of insurance
The initiative includes beat-specific training, an interactive digital learning platform, journalist toolkits for field reporting and a monitoring framework designed to assess the impact of the programme.
Implementation is being advanced with relevant stakeholders, including the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ).
According to IPL, the objective is to generate measurable growth in public engagement with insurance-related issues, stimulate policy conversations around risk management and, ultimately, contribute to improved insurance uptake.
The organisation also intends for the media-driven model to become scalable and sustainable across other African markets.
Africa Re Foundation’s role
The Africa Re Foundation is the corporate social responsibility arm of the African Reinsurance Corporation, through which the reinsurer supports initiatives aimed at developing and strengthening Africa’s insurance market and wider social and economic environment.
The Foundation’s activities include risk awareness, insurance industry development, health, education, disaster recovery, technology development, research and community development.
Its support for the journalism programme reflects an attempt to strengthen the connection between insurance institutions and the media, particularly in an environment where public understanding of insurance remains relatively low.
The African Reinsurance Corporation, the Foundation’s parent organisation, is also marking significant milestones in 2026, including its 50th anniversary and the achievement of the billion-dollar mark in premiums.
For IPL, the September workshop represents an opportunity to reposition insurance journalism from a specialist beat into a mainstream reporting framework, one capable of helping Nigerians understand the risks surrounding their daily lives, the cost of inadequate protection and the role of insurance in building economic resilience.
Seunmanuel Faleye is a brand and communications strategist. He is a covert writer and an overt creative head. He publishes Apple’s Bite International Magazine.
