Ololade Adeyanju/
Plans to recapitalise the insurance industry has received the nod of President Muhammadu Buhari, and the support of the Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe; the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mr Ben Akabueze, and other stakeholders in the financial services sector.
The National Insurance Commission had, in a circular, announced new capital requirements for operators in the insurance industry.
In the circular to its regulated entities, life insurance companies’ capital was raised from N2bn to N8bn, general companies got a raise from N3bn to N10bn, while composite insurance companies’ capital was raised from N5bn to N18bn.
The regulator also increased the capital of reinsurance companies from N10bn to N20bn.
NAICOM stated that the commencement date for the circular was May 20, 2019, while the deadline was fixed on June 30, 2020.
Speaking at the opening session of the national insurance conference held on Monday in Abuja, Buhari said the recapitalisation directive would make the insurance industry to be more responsive to the objectives of his administration to the economy.
The conference with the theme ‘Disruption, Innovation and Business Growth’ was organised by the Insurance Industry Consultative Council.
It was attended by the Commissioner for Insurance, Mohammed Kari; the Chairman of IICC, Mr Eddie Efekoha; and the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Winifred Oyo-Ita. among others.
Represented at the event by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Mahmoud Isa-Dutse, the President gave the Federal Government’s expectations from the sector as an increase in financial capability to enable local risk retention and prompt payment of claims.
Others are transparency in dealing with potential policyholders to engender consumer trust, expansion in the current portfolio of insurance products to better address client needs, increased focus on outreach and specific success such as lower income segments and expansion of insurance firms’ operation to cover the Nigerian federation.
He said, “The insurance sector plays a vital role in the financial sector because it reduces the poverty line, assist people to manage their risks, protect them from adverse effects due to unforeseen circumstances and increases access to other financial services.”