Yemisi Izuora
The Chairman of Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA); Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, has said that Nigeria’s insurance companies possess the capacity to underwrite large and complex risks.
According to Nwachukwu, the recently concluded recapitalization process has produced a sector with stronger, better-capitalized players, Players with the Underwriting capacity for large and complex risks, Players with the Capacity to underwrite an expanded compulsory insurance market.
Speaking as Guest of Honour at the BusinessDay Insurance Conference 2026, she said Nigeria now has players with Long-term capital for infrastructural development and capital markets.
Today, she said the industry has greater opportunity to drive financial inclusion at the base of the pyramid and the opportunities for stronger digital transformation and Insurtech-led distribution.
The recapitalization exercise she went on to emphasize has produced an industry with capital in excess of N1.079 trillion.
In addition she added that the process has attracted both domestic and foreign investment to our sector because investors see stronger governance, a clearer regulatory environment, and genuine growth prospects.
In all fifty insurance and reinsurance companies successfully met the new Capital Requirements. This capital influx is a vote of confidence for our industry and in the reforms that NAICOM has championed.
“Now, as we move into the next phase of industry growth, our focus must sharpen. The capital is in place. The legal framework is in place. The question before every boardroom now is what do we do with it? The next phase demands disciplined execution. We must resist the temptation to celebrate the recapitalization as an end. The real test lies ahead—in translating stronger balance sheets into underwriting capacity, innovation, better claims service, and wider penetration. The industry’s leadership must remain focused on the fundamentals: sound underwriting, prudent risk management, customer-centric service, and sustainable growth. Complacency now would be a betrayal of the opportunity that NIIRA has created.” the NIA Chairman stressed.
She said the theme of the conference, “From Capital to Capacity: Driving Growth, Innovation, and Trust in Nigeria’s Insurance Sector,” could not be timelier as it perfectly captures the defining moment of our industry.
She said “For several years, our industry focused on one central task: strengthening its capital base. Today, that exercise has reached an important milestone. I congratulate the operators who rose to the challenge, and I acknowledge the regulator, NAICOM, for its firm and consistent leadership through the process.”
Discussing the achievement further, Nwachukwu said that Capital is not the destination but the foundation because the real question before is whether the public will see the difference.
“Will a business owner find it easier to insure a larger risk locally? Will a family trust that a claim will be paid promptly and fairly? Will a young Nigerian in Kano, Aba, or Ibadan see insurance as relevant to their life? The value of recapitalization will be judged by what it delivers to policyholders, not by what it says on a balance sheet.” she says.
She said that more capital gives the industry room to write bigger risks and grow faster. It must go hand in hand with sound underwriting, prudent risk management, and adequate pricing. Growth that ignores discipline only postpones the problem. Growth built on both will be sustainable.
She however lamented that penetration remains far below what țhe economy and population require. Technology, Insurtech partnerships, digital channels, and products designed for underserved segments give us practical ways to reach Nigerians we have not yet served. The opportunity is large, and our stronger capital positions gives us the means to pursue it.