Five years ago, Heirs Insurance did not exist. Tony Elumelu's team launched it publicly on June 1, 2021, into one of the most underpenetrated insurance markets on the continent, a country of more than 200 million people where fewer than one percent of GDP flows through insurance products and where decades of unpaid claims had made most Nigerians instinctively skeptical of the entire sector. The bet was that technology, speed and trust could crack open a market that had resisted formal insurance for generations. Five years later, the group has two million customers and two of its subsidiaries are ranked among Africa's fastest-growing companies by the Financial Times.
Heirs Insurance Group, comprising Heirs General Insurance Limited, Heirs Life Assurance Limited and Heirs Insurance Brokers, was this month recognised on the Financial Times Africa's Fastest-Growing Companies 2026 ranking, one of the continent's most closely watched annual business performance benchmarks. Of the 130 companies featured across all sectors, Heirs Life Assurance ranked seventh and Heirs General Insurance ranked 41st, placing both companies among the elite growth stories on the continent in the same assessment cycle.
The dual recognition reflects compound annual growth rates that the FT's methodology confirms as among the highest in the African insurance sector over the measurement period. Niyi Onifade, the sector head of Heirs Insurance Group, described the ranking as validation of a long-term strategy rather than a short-term push. This validates our long-term vision to redefine insurance in Africa and reflects our commitment to sustainable, technology-driven growth, he said.
