By Taiye Olayemi
Mrs Yetunde Ilori, President of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), has commended the innovative and technology-driven solutions presented during the institute’s maiden Insurance Week Hackathon competition.
Ilori gave the commendation after the completion of the competition on Thursday in Lagos, held at the College of Insurance and Financial Management in Asese, Ogun, as part of the Insurance Week organised by the CIIN.
She described the solutions as crucial to the industry’s transformation and relevance in the digital age.
“This shows that the future is bright for the Nigerian insurance industry. We are transforming as an industry, and digital innovation is at the heart of that transformation,” Ilori said.
She noted that 19 teams initially applied for the competition, but only six were shortlisted.
The competition, which targeted young Nigerians between the ages of 18 and 29, engaged six finalist teams over a four-week intensive innovation process, culminating in a demo day on Wednesday in Lagos.
The hackathon focused on real-world challenges in the sector, such as inclusive insurance, fraud detection, risk management, and improving customer experience.
It was designed to cultivate the next generation of insurance innovators, deepen insurance awareness, and promote financial literacy among Nigerians.
The teams that participated in the final stage of the competition were: Ifokanbale, Insurbridge, Insurvate, Team Aegis, Team Phoenix, and The Assured Team.
Team Aegis developed “Hustle Guard,” a microinsurance solution for tricycle drivers covering health, life, and income, in an effort to demystify microinsurance in Nigeria.
The Assured Team presented “Kolo Plus by Card,” an unstructured savings plan with payment and interest features tailored to low-income earners.
Team Insurbridge created “Smarter Claims,” a solution aimed at improving the insurance claims process.
Team Phoenix introduced “HerShield,” a solution focused on empowering women and building trust in the insurance sector.
The Assured Team also developed additional ideas to drive insurance penetration in underserved and informal communities.
After an engaging pitch session before a panel of judges, Team Insurvate emerged as the overall winner with its solution, “Claim Central”, an end-to-end digital platform designed to streamline the insurance claims process from policyholders to insurers.
Team Aegis secured second place, while Team Phoenix came in third.
The panel of judges included financial sector experts such as Norah Igwe, Tunji Andrews, Diana Mulili, Sakeenat Bakare, Ibraheem Babalola, and Prince Adeshina Adeyemi-Doro.
Also speaking, Mr Eddie Efekoha, Chairman of the Insurance Week, said the hackathon demonstrated a conscious effort to explore how technology can help distribute insurance products to all parts of the country.
“We believe this initiative will spark more interest among the youth to engage with insurance, not just as consumers but as creators and innovators,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the winning team, Mr Odunayo Ojeremi, leader of Team Insurvate, described the competition as highly competitive and rewarding.
“We are excited and grateful for the opportunity.
“We didn’t expect to win, but we are glad our solution was recognised. We hope to improve ‘Claim Central’ and make it a platform that ensures seamless claims processing,” he said.
The Insurance Week, which began on Saturday, June 28, is set to conclude on Friday, July 4.