Joyce Ojemudia is an accomplished insurance professional and astute manager of resources with over twenty years of experience in insurance sales, business development, risk management, claims administration and reinsurance.
Joyce Ojemudia is the MD/CEO of African Alliance Insurance Plc. She started her career as a Marketing Executive at Healthcare International (a Health Maintenance Organisation) before joining Linkage Assurance Plc as Deputy Head, Marketing in 2002. At Linkage, she oversaw all the branch activities of the company related to marketing and contributed to the increase in the market share and profitability of the underwriter. Joyce then proceeded to STACO Insurance PLC in 2007 where she made her mark as Assistant General Manager, Marketing, with responsibilities to coordinate and monitor marketing activities in the public sector as well as to direct corporate clients.
Joyce’s excellence and drive at STACO Insurance was rewarded with a promotion to Assistant Director in 2011, a role which required her to formulate and execute strategic business plans for the public sector in addition to her marketing duties. In 2016, she was back at Linkage Assurance as General Manager tasked with the management and coordination of the entire marketing department and its four sub-units. She was also involved in strategic top management decisions for the entire company up until her exit in 2020.
A thoroughbred professional, Joyce is currently rounding up her PhD in Entrepreneurship at Joseph Ayo Babalola University. She is an alumnus of the prestigious Lagos Business School (SMP 40) and the University of Lagos. She is a Fellow of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria, as well as an Associate of both the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria and the Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria. She is the current president of Professional Insurance Ladies Association (PILA).
In this Woman of the Month interview, Joyce Ojemudia speaks about the opportunities available in the insurance industry, particularly for women.
What motivates you – in life and in your career?
It is easy to say success and a firm commitment to change and results are my motivations. But then, I find all these in Jesus, the Christ, the author and finisher of my faith. I say Jesus because in him, I have every push I need to become all I am called to become in life, be it in my career or elsewhere. I pride myself in being a change agent, and this drives everything I do in life and in my career. Above all I must acknowledge that I have been mightily helped of God.
As MD/CEO of African Alliance, what have been the major challenges, and wins, for the company?
African Alliance is the oldest indigenous life insurer in these climes. A legacy company by all standards and a pathfinder for many other insurance firms. The company just turned 60 and you would agree with me that for a 60-year-old institution, there must surely be many things it is doing right, and alongside the good would be some not-too-good. So the challenges are largely legacy issues and we are tackling them head-on. For wins, these are many. We have a thriving, niche business line, Takaful, that is a market leader; we have one of the strongest portfolios in annuity; and we have a goodwill that transcends four generations of staff. We look forward to many more wins just as we tactfully navigate our challenges.
What opportunities do you see for the insurance industry in Nigeria and Africa over the next ten years?
It has been said again and again that our industry is grossly under-tapped. Insurance penetration is still about 1%, which leaves a huge market for the taking. So over the next ten years, I expect a strategic deepening of insurance penetration in Nigeria. With the coming of more major players and concerted efforts from our regulators, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), as well as our peers, we expect a rapid boost in the uptake of insurance. Already, the issue of market apathy and distrust is being tackled via prompt claims payment and a through-the-line communications campaign footed by the entire industry. Soon, we will reap the fruits of these exertions and put our industry where it should be amongst the comity of financial services institutions.
On the continent, the momentum is way better than locally. Many of our peers in Kenya, South Africa, etc. have imbibed insurance as a culture whereas we are still grudge-buying here. So, it can only get better.
What advice would you give a young person interested in pursuing a career in insurance? And for those set on this path, how do they make the most out of their careers?
Like every career path, first thing is to understand the industry and find your place in it. A career is no longer something one does because a mentor says so or a guardian feels so. It has to be an internal decision you can own and run with. Our industry is widely regarded as the poor cousin of banking but this is untrue, we have simply not lived up to our potentials. So there is room for believers, can-do specialists and nimble thinkers. The industry is no longer business as usual, so for those already there, you have to commit to learning, unlearning and relearning.
From your experience, how have women fared in the insurance industry, and what do you think should be done for women to have successful careers?
Now more than ever, we have more women rising in the industry. Off the top of my head, I can count more female CEOs now than there were 10 years ago. I absolutely believe women need to support each other to grow. It is a male-dominated industry, no doubt, so women at the top need to consciously invest in those below and help them navigate all the peculiarities of our gender. I double as the President of PILA, the Professional Insurance Ladies Association in Nigeria. In PILA, we are all about the betterment of our ladies in insurance. Through a combination of relentless education via workshops, conferences, trainings, mentoring and networking, we strive to bring out the best in our ladies without them dropping the ball as mothers, wives and professionals. Who says you cannot be a mother, wife and a CEO? Or even a Chairperson of an insurance company?
How do you ensure a healthy work-life balance?
I try to relax by reading the Word of God, praying and taking it easy especially on weekends. I also take yearly vacations and never fail to keep in touch with my body through constant check-ups. Unfortunately, we are at a crucial period in the life of our company and the entire industry so all hands have to be on deck at this point.