The month of December brings higher risks due to travel, weather, and increased spending, making insurance essential for protecting finances, health, and property. Ekerete Ola Gam-Ikon, deputy commissioner for Insurance, Finance and Administration at the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in this report says this is the ideal time to review or renew policies to start the New Year fully covered and secure. Modestus Anaesoronye brings the report.
Make this month count starting from today. The last time the 1st day of December fell on a Monday was in 2014, eleven years ago! It means nothing to the “too serious” or “unsuspecting” ones amongst us, but I vividly remember it as the year that a few insurance companies began to fail to honour their obligations to life policyholders prompting the insurance regulator to vigorously consider another phase of recapitalization!
By that time, some of the old respected names, the too big to fail and the new generation insurers were struggling to give cash back to Nigerians who were surrendering their life policies after 5-10 years of consistently remitting premiums. The stories were alarmingly regrettable.
Today, the journey to regain public trust and have financially sound insurers in an emergent AI-powered services environment has been fierce and very demanding for the insurance sector in Nigeria. The new law, Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025 signed by the President four months ago, is the most effective instrument of consumer confidence, modernity, digitisation and transformation available to deliver the desired impact of insurance on lives and livelihoods in Nigeria.
Strategic collaborations, stakeholders’ engagements and systematic reviews of processes are ongoing to ensure the effectiveness of the implementation of the provisions of NIIRA 2025.
Three strategic actions stand out amongst several others as the implementation progresses, namely:
– Strengthening the organizational effectiveness of the regulator
– Restoring the confidence of the public with the recapitalization process anchored in the law
– Establishing broad-based implementation working groups that cut across diverse economic sectors with the purpose of deepening insurance penetration
Nigeria and Nigerians are readily embracing the new spirit of insurance and young entrepreneurs in agriculture, industry and services are eager to see how insurtech can truly enable more coverage and sort out claims seamlessly.
We are bound to enter 2026 with some of our expectations met by insurers and intermediaries; however, the time to ask appropriate questions is now. Do not assume that the renewal of your insurance contracts will be similar to what happened last year or that the positive picture that NIIRA 2025 has produced are transient. The assurance given by the regulator at every opportunity to protect the insurance policyholders and restore public trust in the insurance industry in Nigeria is very clear, intentional and committal.
I am indeed delighted that there are evidences to support such declarations, especially in terms of claims payments totalling hundreds of dollars this year, and more retirees would be happy to share their experiences.
Hopefully, this December is poised to be different and unique in certain ways and we look forward to discussing more insurance, more innovation and more adoption as we approach the New Year.
