Nigeria's insurance industry has completed its recent recapitalisation exercise, but now faces the challenge of using its stronger capital positions to drive growth, innovation, and customer trust. Speakers at the 2026 BusinessDay Insurance Conference emphasized that the success of the exercise should not be measured solely by the amount of capital raised, but by the industry's ability to underwrite larger risks, improve claims settlement, and develop relevant products. The conference, themed "From Capital to Capacity: Driving Growth, Innovation and Trust in Nigeria's Insurance Sector," brought together regulators and industry stakeholders to discuss the priorities for the sector.
Clifford Ndubem, head of Finance at the Lagos Control Office of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), representing Olusegun Omosehin, commissioner for insurance and CEO of NAICOM, said capital was necessary for insurers to absorb losses and support economic activity. However, he emphasized that capital without capacity was merely a number on a balance sheet. Omosehin's keynote address, delivered by Ndubem, highlighted the need for insurers to move beyond measuring capital raised to examining what the additional capital is accomplishing.
Omosehin stated that the industry must now focus on strengthening underwriting capacity, claims-paying ability, and customer satisfaction. He believed that greater capacity should enable insurers to underwrite major infrastructure projects, retain more risk within Nigeria, and develop products for emerging and underserved markets. The regulator also emphasized the importance of innovation in making insurance more relevant to consumers, whose expectations have been shaped by digital banking, e-commerce, and telecommunications.
The use of data analytics and artificial intelligence will be critical to the industry's transformation, but Omosehin stressed that these tools must be used responsibly. Insurers will need to invest in technology that improves speed, transparency, and accessibility. Trust, however, remains central to converting these investments into growth. Omosehin noted that claims payment was the "most visible proof of insurance value," and that prompt settlement strengthens confidence while delays and unresolved complaints weaken it.
Frank Aigbogun, publisher of BusinessDay, said the recapitalisation had created a new set of challenges for insurers, including meeting customer expectations while generating adequate returns for shareholders who had provided fresh capital. He believed that insurers also had a role to play in Nigeria's ambition to build a $1 trillion economy through capital deployment, strategic risk management, and support for economic activity. Aigbogun emphasized that improving insurance penetration would require the industry to do more to explain the value and terms of its products to potential customers.
Aigbogun shared his personal experience of having insurance policies but being unable to explain their coverage word-for-word, highlighting the wider challenge facing the industry. He believed that some Nigerians may not have insurance because they lack sufficient understanding of what the products offer, while others may have had experiences that failed to meet their expectations. The industry, he said, needs to do a lot of work to address these challenges.
Abimbola Tiamuiyu, registrar and CEO of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, said the industry also needed to build the human capacity required to support its transformation. She emphasized that the institute remained committed to developing a professional, ethical, innovative, and resilient insurance industry capable of serving policyholders and contributing to Nigeria's economic development. The speakers' positions point to a post-recapitalisation challenge for the industry: turning financial strength into the capacity to take on more risk, innovate, deliver better value to customers, and ultimately build the trust needed for sustainable growth.
Key points
- Insurers must use their stronger capital positions to drive growth, innovation, and customer trust.
- The industry must focus on strengthening underwriting capacity, claims-paying ability, and customer satisfaction.
- Innovation and responsible use of data analytics and artificial intelligence will be critical to the industry's transformation.
