Zenith Life Insurance in Landmark Partnership with UK’s Prudential

Ebere Nwoji

Zenith Life Insurance has redefined the Nigerian insurance sector with its landmark partnership with Prudential Plc, one of the oldest and most capitalised life insurance companies in the world.

The partnership, which will see Zenith Life trade under Zenith-Prudential Life, also involves an exclusive bancassurance agreement with Zenith Bank Plc in Nigeria and Ghana, a statement from Zenith Life said  wednesday after the unveiling of the partnership in Lagos.

Prudential Plc is a British multinational life insurance and financial services company headquartered in London and boasts of some 24 million customers.

According to the statement, the partnership and bancassurance agreement will allow Prudential access to Nigeria’s huge 180 million market, the largest in Africa.

Jim Ovia, Founder of Zenith Bank, Zenith Life and now Chairman, Zenith-Prudential, said: “This landmark transaction is set to redefine the life insurance industry in Nigeria.

“Given the combination of Zenith Life’s local presence with one of the oldest and most successful life insurers, we expect Zenith-Prudential Life to act as a significant catalyst within the sector.

“We anticipate creating thousands of employment opportunities in Nigeria by embarking on this transformational deal,” Ovia stated.

Zenith Life, incorporated in 2001, has grown its gross written premium by 22 per cent per annum over the last five years, making it one of the fastest growing life insurance companies in Nigeria, with gross written premium of N3.3 billion at the end of 2016.

Matt Lilley, Chief Executive of Prudential Africa, said: “Today’s announcement is an important milestone for Prudential and our growing portfolio of high quality life insurance businesses in Africa.

“We are excited by the opportunity of partnering with Zenith Bank, one of the largest and most dynamic banks in Africa, and working with our new colleagues to build Zenith-Prudential into a leader in Nigeria’s growing life insurance industry,” he enthused.

Prudential Plc was founded in London in 1848 and together with its affiliated companies, constitutes one of the world’s leading financial services groups, serving around 24 million insurance customers, with £599 billion of assets under management (as at 31 December 2016).

The company, which has operations in the UK, the U.S., Africa and 14 markets in Asia, is incorporated in England and Wales and is listed on the stock exchanges in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and New York.

In his contribution, the Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank, Peter Amangbo, said: “Zenith Bank has always sought to partner with the best-in-class global players. By developing a bancassurance offering in conjunction with Zenith-Prudential Life, we will be positioned to offer our clients a greater bouquet of products, enhancing our ability to meet their financial needs.”

He added that the partnership will evolve a remarkable adaptation of international products around the peculiarities of Nigeria’s unique market and allow for integration of the global and local markets of the two companies now acting as one: Zenith-Prudential.

Zenith Bank Plc, which is Nigeria’s biggest bank by tier-1 capital, provides corporate, business and personal banking products through its network of over 350 branches, serving millions of customers.