Will NAICOM Replicate the CBN’s Banking Recapitalisation Success?

With only days remaining before the July 31, 2026 deadline for Nigeria’s insurance recapitalisation exercise, attention has shifted to one defining question: Can the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) successfully steer the insurance industry through its biggest capital reform without casualties, just as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) did in the banking sector?
The recapitalisation exercise, driven by the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025, represents the most ambitious restructuring of the insurance industry in more than two decades.
Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of NAICOM, Mr. Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, has consistently assured stakeholders that the Commission’s objective is not to shut down insurance companies but to build stronger, more resilient institutions capable of protecting policyholders and supporting Nigeria’s growing economy.
His assurance closely mirrors the approach adopted by the CBN during the banking recapitalisation programme, where banks were encouraged to raise fresh capital, merge, acquire competitors or attract strategic investors rather than exit the financial system.
A Smaller Industry Before the Deadline
The insurance industry’s landscape has already changed significantly even before the July 31 deadline.
According to the latest industry data, Nigeria now has 57 licensed insurance companies, compared with 67 operators in 2023, reflecting years of regulatory intervention, licence withdrawals, liquidations and market consolidation.
Among companies that have exited the market are:
Niger Insurance Plc
Standard Alliance Insurance Plc
UNIC Insurance Plc
Spring Life Assurance Plc
Investment & Allied Insurance Company Plc
In addition, NAICOM dissolved the Board of African Alliance Insurance in October 2024 as part of regulatory intervention, while Goldlink Insurance Plc was delisted from the Nigerian Exchange, underscoring the Commission’s determination to strengthen governance and financial stability across the sector.
How the Industry Has Changed
When Nigeria had 67 insurers in 2023, the market comprised:
13 Life Insurance Companies
27 General Insurance Companies
12 Composite Insurance Companies
3 Reinsurance Companies
4 Takaful Operators
8 Microinsurance Companies
Today, the number of licensed operators has reduced to 57, with analysts expecting further consolidation through mergers, acquisitions and strategic partnerships rather than outright failures as the recapitalisation exercise reaches its climax.
The Banking Industry Sets the Benchmark
Many industry experts believe the insurance sector is following a path similar to the banking industry’s recent recapitalisation.
Initially, fears were widespread that several banks would disappear. Instead, institutions successfully raised fresh capital through rights issues, public offers, private placements, mergers and acquisitions.
Today, Nigeria’s banking industry is stronger, better capitalised and more resilient.
Insurance stakeholders believe NAICOM hopes to achieve the same outcome.
Omosehin’s Promise: No Insurer Should Fail
Commissioner for Insurance Mr. Olusegun Ayo Omosehin has repeatedly maintained that the Commission does not intend to allow any licensed insurer to collapse because of recapitalisation.
Rather, financially weaker firms are being encouraged to explore mergers, acquisitions, fresh equity injections and strategic restructuring to meet the new capital thresholds established under NIIRA 2025.
However, the Commission has also demonstrated that recapitalisation goes beyond raising capital.
Earlier this month, NAICOM directed insurers to settle all outstanding discharged claims before they can qualify for regulatory clearance and licence renewal after the recapitalisation exercise, making claims settlement a mandatory condition for compliance.
Compliance Race Intensifies
Industry reports indicate that while several insurers have successfully completed capital verification, many operators were still progressing through the verification process as the deadline approached.
Earlier updates showed only part of the industry had completed verification, highlighting the pressure on operators to conclude capital raising, documentation and regulatory approvals before July 31.
Beyond Capital: Building a Stronger Insurance Market
Experts argue that recapitalisation should not simply produce bigger balance sheets.
For the exercise to achieve its objectives, stronger capital must translate into:
Faster claims settlement.
Improved corporate governance.
Greater public confidence.
Increased insurance penetration.
Better digital innovation.
Enhanced underwriting capacity.
Stronger support for infrastructure, aviation, agriculture, oil and gas projects.
Only then will NIIRA 2025 deliver the transformation envisioned by policymakers.
The Ameh News Analysis
The countdown has entered its final phase.
From 67 insurers in 2023 to 57 licensed operators today, Nigeria’s insurance industry has already undergone significant restructuring before the implementation of NIIRA 2025.
The next few days will determine whether NAICOM achieves what many consider the insurance industry’s equivalent of the CBN’s banking recapitalisation success—creating stronger, better-capitalised insurers without triggering systemic disruption.
If Commissioner for Insurance Mr. Olusegun Ayo Omosehin delivers on his assurance that no insurer will suffer from the exercise, the July 31, 2026 deadline may be remembered not as the end of an era, but as the beginning of a stronger, more resilient and globally competitive Nigerian insurance industry.
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As Nigeria’s July 31, 2026 insurance recapitalisation deadline approaches, 57 licensed insurers race to comply with NIIRA 2025. Can NAICOM replicate the CBN’s successful banking recapitalisation without company failures?