Africa-Press – Nigeria. The National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, has announced July 2026 as the deadline for issuing licences to insurance and reinsurance companies that meet the new Minimum Capital Requirement, MCR.
In a notice issued on Thursday in Abuja, the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Olusegun Omosehin, stated that the commission will begin implementing risk-based capital measures for companies that satisfy the MCR, with sufficient transition periods provided after the deadline.
According to the notice, the date also serves as the final compliance cutoff for all operators under the updated framework.
He explained that the timelines are designed to support the effective rollout of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act, NIIRA 2025.
“Under NIIRA 2025 and NAICOM’s guidelines, we have set clear expectations by specifying the MCR at N10 billion for life insurers, N15 billion for non-life insurers, and N35 billion for reinsurers,” Omosehin said. “These timelines are firm and demonstrate our commitment to a transparent, orderly, and risk-based transition to a stronger capital regime.”
Omosehin highlighted that the recapitalisation exercise will enhance insurers’ solvency and underwriting capacity, enabling them to write larger policies and retain more risk within the country. He added that the move would boost public and investor confidence, attract capital, and spur strategic mergers and acquisitions that promote scale and operational efficiency.
According to him, recapitalisation will also improve the industry’s regional competitiveness, especially under the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA. With stronger balance sheets, he noted, Nigerian insurers will be better positioned to pursue cross-border opportunities, design regional products, and underwrite major infrastructure and trade-related risks.
“Recapitalisation is the passport to that future,” he said.
President Bola Tinubu signed the NIIRA 2025 Act into law in August 2025 to modernise the insurance sector by consolidating previous legislation and introducing key reforms, including higher capital thresholds and mandatory timelines for claim settlement.
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