NAICOM charges NIA on enforcement, innovation

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has charged the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) to lead the rebuilding of public trust in insurance as the industry enters a new phase of transformation.

Speaking in Abuja, the Commissioner for Insurance at NAICOM, Mr. Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, while celebrating Mrs. Ebelechukwu B. Nwachukwu as the 27th and first female Chairman of the NIA, described her emergence as “historic and timely.”

Omosehin said the new leadership is coming at a defining phase following the signing of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025 and the impending close of the recapitalisation exercise on July 31, 2026.

“The foundation is set. NIIRA 2025 gave us the legal framework. Recapitalisation is giving us stronger, better-capitalised institutions. Now, leadership must build,” he stated.

According to a statement by the commission, the Commissioner commended the immediate past Chairman, Mr. Kunle Ahmed, for his purposeful leadership and for supporting the commission during the passage of NIIRA 2025.

He outlined three key responsibilities for the NIA under the new leadership: leadership in trust, to make claims excellence a market-wide culture and publish claims ratios to compete on service; leadership in enforcement, to drive compliance with the six classes of compulsory insurance in partnership with state governments and law enforcement agencies; and leadership in innovation, to scale digital channels, microinsurance, Takaful, and parametric covers to grow penetration beyond one per cent.

Omosehin reaffirmed NAICOM’s commitment to risk-based supervision, stronger governance, and consumer protection under NIIRA 2025.

He charged the new Chairman to “unite the market, raise the bar, and expand the pie” by taking insurance to the over 100 million Nigerians who have never owned a policy.

“The Nigerian insurance industry stands at a defining inflection point. The laws have changed. The capital base is changing. Now we must transform how we serve the Nigerian people,” he concluded.

He assured the new NIA Chairman of the commission’s full support.