Nigeria’s insurance industry has emerged from its 12-month recapitalisation exercise with N1.079 trillion in a fresh capital injection, a development the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) said could significantly expand the sector’s capacity to insure major infrastructure, energy and other strategic economic projects as the Federal Government pushes its $1 trillion economy ambition.
The Commissioner for Insurance, Olusegun Omosehin, at the weekend in a media interactive session in Lagos, said the outcome of the recapitalisation represented a major increase in the financial strength available to underwriters and reinsurers.
Omosehin said the exercise had produced “a total capital of N1.079 trillion,” challenging stakeholders to recognise the progress recorded through the reform.
The capital raised is currently domiciled in escrow accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), with the commissioner assuring that the funds would be released to the respective companies on or before September 30.
The development effectively shifts the industry’s challenge from raising capital to deploying it productively, particularly in an economy where huge infrastructure, energy, aviation, marine and industrial projects require stronger domestic risk-taking capacity.
