…Dismisses Claims Of Compliance
The National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, says the July 30, 2026 deadline for insurance companies to recapitalize in line with the provisions of the Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform,NIIRA Act 2025 remains sacrosanct.
The Deputy Commissioner of Insurance, Dr Usman Jankara Jimada stated this on Tuesday in Abuja at a seminar for Insurance journalists.
He stated that those waiting for extension of the deadline will have to approach the National Assembly for a review of that section dealing with the deadline and also approach the President for assent.
Jimada said “This is the law for now, and we cannot extend the deadline, except those who want the deadline extended will have to approach the National Assembly for a review”
He pointed out that no insurance company has scaled the hurdle of the new recapitalisation based on NIIRA requirements because of strict processes to overcome, before NAICOM will validate their claims based on the report of the big four audit firms scrutinising their claims.
According to him” No company can be adjudged to have complied with NIIRA provisions until they go through the scanner of the big four audit firms verifying their claims, and NAICOM validates the reports sent to them by the audit firms”
Jimada also pointed out one of the major gains of the NIIRA Act 2025 to include the establishment of the Insurance Policyholders Protection Fund to shield premium holders from any loss in the event of insolvency .
“This fund will be insurance version of NDIC, though it will serve dual purposes, like AMCON also, where it can support any company going under to bounce back or in case of insolvency, settle policyholders”
The Deputy Commissioner pointed out that “This Fund will be 0.25 percent levies on insurers gross premium income which will be complemented by investment income from government securities and potential transfers from existing insurance development funds’
Jimada also shed light on why the minimum capital requirement was raised to N10bn for Life Insurance, N15bn for Non Life Insurance and N35bn for Reinsurance.
“ The devaluation of the Naira is behind the recapitalisation. In 2007, the minimum capital requirement of N2bn was 500m dollars, but today that is just 2m dollars.”
In the meantime, the Deputy Director, Market Conduct and Complaints Bureau, Olugbenga Jaiyesimi in his paper “Consumer Protection Under NIIRA Act 2025” says the Act is a landmark legislation aimed at transforming Nigeria’s insurance sector.
He stated that NIIRA 2025 has repealed and consolidated outdated
laws—including the Insurance Act 2003 and the National Insurance Commission Act 1997—into a single, modern framework.
Jaiyesimi highlighted key objectives of the new Act to include Strengthening financial stability and consumer protection, Increase insurance penetration across Nigeria, Align Nigeria’s insurance regulations with global standards, and Support the government’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy.
Meanwhile, Head of Research and Statistics, Dr Umar Baba in his paper presentation” Operationalizing the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act 2025: Strategic Priorities and Implementation Roadmap for Enhanced Industry Growth” described the insurance sector as the performer in the financial sector.
He pointed out that the sector had witnessed 30 percent growth in the last two years and was expected to double its premium at the end of the year,with expectation fixed at 2trn dollars in line with government’s 0ne trillion dollar economy.
Baba stated “ As at September 2025, claims settlement was 85 percent for Non Life Insurance, while for Life Insurance it was 95 percent, with expectation that operationalizing NIIRA will fast-track claims settlement to 100 percent.”
The Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025 was signed into law by President Bola Tinubu on 31st July, 2025.
