NAICOM’s Failed  Insurance Firms Dilemma – THISDAYLIVE

With recent conclusion of recapitalisation exercise in the insurance industry, NAICOM ‘s appointment of  receivers and liquidators for the failed insurance  firms has generated court actions against possible liquidation, writes Ebere Nwoji.

The present leadership at the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), will for ever be remembered for its determination to conduct a  fair and conclusive recapitalisation exercise in  the Nigerian insurance industry after two decades of several inconclusive  recapitalisation attempts.

Indeed, before the present commissioner for insurance, Mr Olusegun Ayo Omosehin’s regime  in NAICOM,  his predecessors namely Mohammed Kari and Sunday Thomas had experimented on several models of recapitalisation but all ended inconclusively because of oppositions from some owners of insurance firms who could not raise the new capital within the specified time.

But with Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act’s  (NIIRA) recommendation of new capital base for the sector, Omosehin, girded his loin to ensure that the recommendation was carried out to the letter.

NAICOM’s Guidelines

In September 2025,  the commission released a standard and explicit recapitalisation guidelines stating a 12-month period for all insurance firms to raise the new capital. According to Omosehin, the objectives of the guideline include to strengthen the capacity of insurance and reinsurance companies in Nigeria, to give effect to Part IV and other relevant sections of NIIRA 2025.

This guidelines aim to provide guidance and clarity on minimum capital requirement (MCR); set the timelines for the implementation of MCR; align capital requirements with risk exposure and best practices; provide guidance on admissible and inadmissible assets and liabilities and ensure seamless consolidation…