Yemisi Izuora
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) on Wednesday announced the withdrawal of the operational licence issued to UNIC Insurance Plc.
The Commission has also appointed Hadiza Baba Gimba, as the Receiver/Liquidator to wind-up the affairs of the Company.
The NAICOM while announcing the revocation said “This is to notify the general public/policyholders that, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by enabling laws, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has cancelled the operational licence issued hitherto to UNIC Insurance Plc-RIC 043 to operate as Insurance Company with effect from March 25, 2021.
NAICOM urged the general public/policyholders to direct all enquiries and correspondences regarding UNIC Insurance Plc to the Receiver/Liquidator, who will be dealing with its liabilities in accordance with the provisions of the Insurance Act 2003.
Although no official reason has been provided for the revocation of the insurance firm’s operating license, NAICOM, however, stated that the decision of the regulator was in the exercise of the powers conferred on it by the enabling laws.
NAICOM in its statement said, “The general public/policyholders are by this notice required to direct all inquiries and correspondence regarding UNIC Insurance to the receiver/liquidator.
The receiver/liquidator will be dealing with the company’s liabilities in accordance with the provision of Insurance Act 2003.’’
The NAICOM, for the third time in June 2020, gave insurance firms in the country a one-year extension to meet the recapitalisation obligation that was recently set for them apparently due to the coronavirus pandemic which had disrupted the activities of most insurance companies.
Some insurance companies had been going through some bad patches with a good number of them struggling to meet up with their obligations and the recapitalization requirements.
The recapitalisation programme requires life insurance firms to meet a minimum paid-up capital of N8.0 billion, up from N2.0 billion previously. In the same vein, general insurance companies are required to raise their minimum paid-up capital to N10.0 billion from N3.0 billion previously.
The regulatory capital for composite insurance was raised to N18.0 billion from N5.0 billion previously while reinsurance businesses are now required to have a minimum capital of N20.0 billion from a previous N10.0 billion.
