The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has disclosed that 18 insurance companies have indicated their readiness to undergo capital verification, which is a key requirement in the current recapitalisation directive to risk-underwriting operators in the Nigerian insurance sector.
The commission’s Chief Executive Officer, Olusegun Omosehin, who gave this hint in his address at the EY Insurance Summit 2025, described the response of the industry players to the recapitalization requirements as so far encouraging.
He said: “Let me say that the industry’s response has been encouraging, with a very significant number of insurers who have indicated their readiness for capital verification. As we speak, we have about 18 companies that have indicated their readiness for capital verification.
“We’ve also put in place a capital verification framework, which is aimed at guaranteeing the integrity of the process. To this end, we are partnering with the Big Four audit firms, including EY, for independent verification of compliance with the minimum capital that is required”, the National Commissioner added.
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Omosehin, who was represented at the forum by the NAICOM’s Deputy Commissioner (Technical), Dr. Usman Jankara, disclosed that the Commission had established a capital verification framework to ensure transparency and credibility.
He expressed optimism that the collaboration with international audit firms would boost investor confidence in the industry and reinforce the credibility of the recapitalisation programme.
It would be recalled that in August this year, In August, NAICOM increased the minimum capital requirements for insurance companies in the country.
Under the regulatory guidelines, non-life insurers must raise their capital from N3 billion to N15 billion, life insurers from N2 billion to N10 billion, and reinsurers from N10 billion to N35 billion.
It maintained that the initiative was designed to enhance the sector’s risk-bearing capacity, improve claims settlement, and boost investor confidence.
To ensure effective implementation of the exercise, the commission also announced new recapitalisation requirements for the operators, directing that all of them should by September 30, 2025 submit their recapitalisation plans, scheduled the period for capital verification exercises for between November 2025 – June 2026, and set the final compliance deadline for the recapitalization at July 30, 2026.
Industry experts have described the NAICOM’s regulatory directive as desirable for the insurance industry in view of the inflation rate in the economy and the implications for effective risk-underwriting obligations of the insurance companies.
