Corporate Social Responsibility and Brand Equity in Nigerian Insurance Companies

This study examines the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and brand equity in Nigerian insurance companies. Insurance companies in Nigeria have increasingly engaged in CSR programs encompassing community development, health interventions, educational scholarships, and environmental initiatives, partly driven by regulatory pressure and competitive differentiation objectives. Yet the extent to which CSR investment translates into measurable brand equity outcomes, including brand awareness, perceived quality, brand loyalty, and brand association, is empirically understudied in the Nigerian insurance context. This research employs a quantitative survey design with data from 400 policyholders of six insurance companies across Lagos and Ogun states. A structural equation model (SEM) is estimated to assess the direct and indirect pathways through which CSR perceptions influence brand equity components, mediated by corporate reputation and consumer trust. CSR activities are categorized into philanthropic, environmental, employee welfare, and community investment dimensions. Preliminary findings are expected to confirm that philanthropic and community investment CSR dimensions are the most visible to consumers and have the strongest brand equity effects in the Nigerian context. The research recommends that insurance companies develop integrated CSR-marketing strategies that maximize brand equity returns on social investment. Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility, Brand Equity, Insurance Companies, Nigeria, Structural Equation Modeling.