Underwriter ranks Nigeria’s top MDRT business

Standing From L-R: Chinyere Emuchay: Head Investment, Esther Orji, Feyishola Ogechi, Tochukwu Emefo, Onyinge Obi, Adaobi Nwoye, Imaobong Itoro, Tochukwu Emefo, Blessing Oseh, Israel Denson, Evelyn Michael, Queen Jamgbadi all 2026 MDRT qualifiers flanked by Kwabena Yirenkyi: Chief Agency Officer, Michael Adimabua: National Sales Manager. Seated From L-R: Pauline Ogebe: Company Secretary/ Head Legal and Compliance, Afolabi Lawal: Executive Director/Chief Financial Officer, Oluwatosin Adebayo-Yusuf, Chief Commercial Officer and Doyinsola Atanda-Obalakun: Head HR all of Prudential Zenith Life at the MDRT qualifiers event.

Standing From L-R: Chinyere Emuchay: Head Investment, Esther Orji, Feyishola Ogechi, Tochukwu Emefo, Onyinge Obi, Adaobi Nwoye, Imaobong Itoro, Tochukwu Emefo, Blessing Oseh, Israel Denson, Evelyn Michael, Queen Jamgbadi all 2026 MDRT qualifiers flanked by Kwabena Yirenkyi: Chief Agency Officer, Michael Adimabua: National Sales Manager. Seated From L-R: Pauline Ogebe: Company Secretary/ Head Legal and Compliance, Afolabi Lawal: Executive Director/Chief Financial Officer, Oluwatosin Adebayo-Yusuf, Chief Commercial Officer and Doyinsola Atanda-Obalakun: Head HR all of Prudential Zenith Life at the MDRT qualifiers event.

Prudential Zenith Life Insurance Limited has emerged as Nigeria’s leading Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) business, ranking first in the country and among the global top 100 companies recognised by the international professional body in its 2026 ranking. ‎ The recognition, according to the company, reflects the growing strength and professional performance of its financial advisers as demand for life insurance and financial planning continues to expand in Nigeria. ‎ MDRT is an international association regarded as a benchmark for professional excellence in life insurance and financial services. Prudential Zenith Life said its latest performance represents a significant improvement in its MDRT standing and contributes to the wider growth recorded by Prudential Africa. ‎ According to the company, 275 advisers across Prudential Africa’s markets qualified for MDRT in the first half of 2026, compared with 662 qualifiers recorded for the whole of 2025. ‎ The company attributed the development partly to Prudential plc’s three-year global partnership with MDRT, launched in 2025, which provides advisers across its markets, including Nigeria, with access to professional learning, leadership development, peer networking and best-practice sharing. ‎ Chief Executive Officer, Prudential Africa, Emmanuel Mokobi Aryee, said the growth reflected increasing awareness among individuals and families about the need to plan for their financial futures. ‎Aryee said the development had positioned Africa as Prudential’s fastest-growing MDRT community globally, adding that the expansion of the agency force would help the group reach more customers and improve professional standards. ‎ He said: “Across Africa, including Nigeria, more individuals and families are recognising the importance of planning for their financial future. Our advisers have a significant opportunity to make a meaningful difference in their communities. ‎ “The momentum we are seeing in Nigeria is part of what makes Africa Prudential’s fastest-growing MDRT community globally, and we are incredibly proud of it. ‎ “By continuing to grow our agency force, we are expanding access to quality advice, serving more customers and helping to raise professional standards in the industry.” ‎ Prudential Zenith Life’s Executive Director/Chief Operations Officer, Samuel Ohonusi, said the ranking demonstrated the discipline, professionalism and customer focus of the company’s advisers. ‎Ohonusi said the recognition would encourage the company to deepen customer trust and expand access to financial advice across the country. ‎ “This recognition reflects the discipline, professionalism and customer focus of our advisers across Nigeria. More Nigerian families are recognising the importance of planning for their financial future, and our advisers are increasingly at the centre of that conversation,” he said. ‎ “Ranking No. 1 in-country and featuring among MDRT’s Global Top 100 is a proud moment for Prudential Zenith Life, and it strengthens our resolve to keep raising professional standards, deepening customer trust and expanding access to quality financial advice across the country.” ‎The company said its MDRT performance was supported by a structured pathway for advisers, covering recruitment, product and sales training, needs-based advisory coaching, mentorship and the use of digital tools. ‎ It noted that the approach was designed to enable advisers to focus on understanding customers’ financial needs and building long-term relationships. ‎ The development comes amid increased focus on agency productivity within Prudential plc, which operates what the company described as the second-largest MDRT agency force globally. ‎ In its half-year results for the six months ended June 2026, Prudential plc reported an eight per cent increase in new business profit to $1.384 billion, while margins increased by two percentage points to 40 per cent. ‎ Agency business accounted for 53 per cent of the group’s total new business profit, while new business profit per active agent rose by nine per cent year-on-year. ‎ Across Africa, the company said annual premium equivalent sales recorded double-digit growth during the period, with the business maintaining top-three positions in several of its key markets. ‎ Prudential Africa currently has about 12,000 advisers across Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Ghana and Nigeria, representing a 71 per cent increase over five years. Its customer base has also grown to 2.6 million from 1.7 million in 2021. ‎ In Nigeria, Prudential Zenith Life said it was continuing to expand its adviser force to meet demand for protection and savings products, while creating professional opportunities for young Nigerians. ‎ The company noted that life insurance remained relatively underdeveloped across much of Africa, with penetration outside South Africa put at 0.31 per cent and insurance density at about $5 per person annually. ‎ It said the gap between the level of insurance protection needed and access to such products presented an opportunity for the industry to expand coverage through improved professional standards, technology and adviser capability. ‎ Prudential Zenith Life became a wholly owned subsidiary of Prudential plc following the latter’s acquisition of 100 per cent of the company on September 26, 2024. ‎ The insurer reported a profit after tax of N3.2 billion in the 2025 financial year and offers individual products covering savings, investment-linked products, endowment and protection plans. ‎ For corporate customers, it provides Group Life, Key-Man Assurance, Credit Life, School Fees Protection and Mortgage Protection products.