20 insurers set for NAICOM’srecapitalisation verification

• Four audit firms to oversee exercise

Twenty insurance companies have stepped forward for capital verification as the industry enters a critical phase of the recapitalisation exercise mandated under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.

The Commissioner for Insurance, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr. Olusegun Omosehin, announced yesterday that the companies have formally notified the Commission of their readiness for verification of their capital positions.

The verification exercise marks the first major implementation stage of the industry’s recapitalisation programme aimed at strengthening insurers’ financial capacity and protecting policyholders.

Omosehin spoke during a media interactive session organised by NAICOM in Lagos on developments surrounding the reforms introduced under NIIRA 2025.

He said recapitalisation was a statutory requirement under the new law and not merely a regulatory initiative.

“For us at the Commission, we are not doing recapitalisation for the fun of it. It is about guaranteeing the financial soundness of the insurance market,” he said.

Under the new capital thresholds, life insurers must increase their minimum capital from N2 billion to N10 billion, non-life companies from N3 billion to N15 billion, while reinsurance firms are required to move from N10 billion to N25 billion.

Omosehin said in order to ensure transparency in the verification process, NAICOM has engaged the global audit giants of PwC, KPMG, Deloitte and Ernst & Young following approval from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), adding that the companies that have indicated readiness have already paid the required verification and processing fees.

However, he stressed that no insurer has yet been certified as having successfully recapitalised.

“As we speak, no company has crossed the line of recapitalisation. What we have are companies that have written to us asking us to come and verify their books,” Omosehin said.

He added that insurers are required to submit monthly recapitalisation progress reports to NAICOM, noting that the latest submissions for February are currently being reviewed.

While expressing satisfaction with the level of progress recorded so far, Omosehin warned that companies showing slow progress could be summoned to appear before the Commission’s leadership.

“For those we have not seen enough traction from, we may call their executive and non-executive directors to meet with us because we must know what they are doing,” he said.

Omosehin stressed that throughout the exercise, NAICOM’s primary responsibility remains the protection of policyholders.

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“Our responsibility is to ensure that no policyholder suffers in the course of this process,” he said.

The recapitalisation programme forms a central pillar of the reforms introduced under NIIRA 2025 to strengthen the financial resilience of Nigeria’s insurance industry.