The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has stated that no insurance company operating in Nigeria has, to date, been legally confirmed to have met the new minimum capital requirements introduced under the ongoing recapitalisation exercise.
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The National Commissioner for Insurance, Olusemu Ayo, disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja during a media engagement, stressing that claims by some insurance firms that they had complied with the new capital thresholds remained unverified and therefore had no legal standing.
Recall that NAICOM has set July 30, 2026, as the final deadline for insurance and reinsurance companies in
Nigeria to meet the new minimum capital requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
The recapitalisation exercise began on July 31, 2025, following presidential assent, providing a 12-month compliance window. Intermediate milestones include submission of recapitalisation plans by September 30, 2025, and capital verification from November 2025 to June 2026.
The capital requirement for the operators is as follows: Life insurers, N10 billion, non-life N15 billion, composite N25 billion, and reinsurance firms N35 billion, shifting to a Risk-Based Capital model.
“As we speak right now, NAICOM has not verified any of the companies, so no company can be adjudged legally to have complied,” Ayo said. “Whether you are big or small, or think you have complied, you must go through the same verification process.”
Represented by Deputy Commissioner Dr Usman Jankara, the Commissioner for Insurance explained that the recapitalisation exercise, which is now in full swing, is being implemented through a structured and transparent framework designed to strengthen the financial soundness of the insurance industry and restore public confidence.
As part of the process, NAICOM has constituted an in-house committee to manage the recapitalisation exercise and issued detailed guidelines on minimum capital requirements, in line with the Nigeria Insurance Reform Act (NIRA) 2025. Insurance companies are also required to submit recapitalisation plans and provide monthly progress reports to the Commission.
According to Ayo, the current phase of the exercise focuses on verifying companies that have indicated they have met the stipulated minimum capital requirements.
To enhance transparency and credibility, NAICOM has engaged the “Big Four” auditing firms—KPMG, Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)—to independently verify the capital positions of insurers.
“These firms will visit insurance companies to assess their assets and investments that make up the minimum capital requirements,” he said. “After their reports are submitted, NAICOM will conduct its own validation where necessary. There are two layers of checks.”
Ayo likened the process to an airport security scanner, noting that every insurance company must pass through the same scrutiny before being confirmed as compliant.
The recapitalisation exercise forms part of broader reforms aimed at strengthening regulation, protecting policyholders, and aligning Nigeria’s insurance industry with global best practices.
Ayo noted that past insolvency and failures to meet claims obligations have significantly damaged public perception of insurance in Nigeria, underscoring the need for more substantial capital buffers and more effective oversight.
In addition to recapitalisation, Dr Jankara highlighted the introduction of the Insurance Policyholders Protection Fund, which is designed to protect policyholders in the event of insurer distress or insolvency. The fund, to be financed through a 0.25 per cent levy on industry premium income, will act as a safety net similar to the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) in the banking sector.
Jankara said the combined effect of recapitalisation, enhanced supervision, and the protection fund would help address systemic weaknesses in the industry and improve confidence among policyholders.
NAICOM, he added, remains committed to ensuring that the recapitalisation exercise is fair, transparent, and uniformly applied, insisting that no insurer will be granted regulatory recognition until it has been fully verified to meet the new capital requirements.
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