The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) says the recapitalisation deadline for the insurance industry will not be extended.
The Commissioner for Insurance, Olusegun Omosehin, said this at a seminar for insurance journalists in Abuja on Tuesday.
Mr Omosehin, represented by Usman Jankara, NAICOM’s deputy commissioner, technical, said the deadline set for July 2026 was reasonable, achievable, and within reach for serious players in the industry.
He said the deadline was mandated by the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA, 2025).
“I want to state unequivocally that the recapitalisation deadline will not be extended,” he said. “This is because it is a law, and we do not have the power to change the law except if we go back to the National Assembly for amendment, and it goes back to the president for assent.”
“That is not a journey that we are willing to embark on,” he said.
Mr Omosehin said the commission would establish new insurance companies that are stronger and more reliable in transacting insurance business in the country by the end of the deadline.
He said NIIRA was another landmark legislation that had provided a modern regulatory framework to strengthen supervision, promote innovation, and enhance consumer protection.
The commissioner said that NIIRA had also provided stronger consumer protection through stronger market control rules, clearer penalty statements, and stiffer penalties for regulatory breaches.
Mr Omosehin said the objective of the seminar was to foster collaboration and maintain the standard of the insurance sector.
He said the seminar was intended to promote accurate, balanced, and responsible reporting on insurance matters.
According to him, it also highlights the commission’s bold actions to ensure that insurance policyholders and potential policyholders are adequately protected.
In a lecture, Gbenga Jayesimi, the head of the Market Conduct and Complaints Bureau of the Commission, said NIIRA would help to
increase insurance penetration across the country.
Mr Jayesimi said NIIRA 2025 would align the country’s insurance regulations with global standards and support the government’s ambition to build a one-trillion-dollar economy.
The recapitalisation exercise, the new Minimum Capital Requirement (MCR) was increased to N10 billion for life insurance.
That of general insurance was increased to N15 billion, and reinsurance was increased to N35 billion.
(NAN)
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