The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has announced the successful completion of the twelve-month insurance sector recapitalization exercise undertaken pursuant to Section 15 and other relevant provisions of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025, which President Bola Tinubu signed into law on 31 July 2025 as part of broader push toward a US$1 trillion economy by 2030.
The Commission described the outcome as a defining milestone for the sector, laying the groundwork for stronger, better capitalised, and more professionally governed insurers.
To carry out the exercise, NAICOM said it issued detailed guidelines covering minimum capital requirements, acceptable capital instruments, admissible assets, and verification procedures, aiming for a process that was orderly, transparent, and credible.
Officials said the structured approach was designed to give operators clear timelines and reporting obligations while allowing the Commission to oversee compliance throughout the transition period.
According to the Commission, forty-three insurance and reinsurance companies successfully met the new minimum capital requirements. Eight additional companies that submitted evidence of compliance close to the deadline are still undergoing final verification, with a decision expected within fourteen days, NAICOM said.
The Commission said the recapitalisation has already strengthened the financial resilience of operators and drawn substantial domestic and foreign investment, helping restore investor confidence in the industry.
It added that insurers are now better positioned to underwrite larger and more complex risks and to honour policyholder obligation more reliably.
NAICOM also linked the exercise to its long-term supervisory goals, saying the stronger capital base supports a shift toward risk-based supervision, under which regulatory requirements are matched closely to each company’s size, complexity, and risk profile.
The Commission reiterated its commitment to consumer protection, market conduct, and expanding insurance penetration across Nigeria as the sector modernises.
It thanked the Federal Government, regulators, stakeholders, and industry stakeholders for their role in the process, and said it would continue to provide updates on the companies still under review, industry restructuring, and the rollout of the new Risk-Based Capital Framework in the months ahead.
