Economy
NAICOM to Raise Capital Base of Micro Insurance Firms
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has disclosed that it was considering the idea of raising operating capital of micro-insurance businesses in Nigeria.
This was made known by the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Sunday Thomas, in an exclusive interview with NAIPCO Trumpet, a journal published by the National Association of Insurance and Pension Correspondents (NAIPCO).
He noted that the amount of capital required for micro-insurance underwriting with respect to some of the sectors is looking unrealistic and that NAICOM may have to step in.
In his words, “Micro-insurance is one of the areas we want to fast track the process. We have a couple of applications that we should be able to conclude soon.
“One thing is for you to initiate something, another is for others to see the viability of the vision. We have this but people seem to be catching up with us in terms of our vision and their understanding of these vision.
“For us, micro-insurance in financial inclusion generally is the way to go. Financial inclusion is going to help us and it is going to drive penetration. I believe that with the way we are going about it, things will get better.
“We are trying to rejig the entire guideline to be more realistic. What we had before in the guideline issued about six years ago was the National, State and the Unit licensing of micro-insurance companies. The amount of capital required for this with respect to some of the sectors is looking unrealistic and we may have to tinker with it,” he said.
Clarifying the regulator’s position if it will lower the capital base of micro-insurance operation, Mr Thomas answered in the negative.
“No, it can’t get lower because if you look at the unit which requires N40 million thereabout, what can it do when you want to establish a sustainable company,” he asked.
He noted that the capital looked adequate as at the time it was conceptualised but obviously it is no longer adequate at the moment, stressing that the exchange rate was about N160 to a dollar when the business was conceptualised and now it is triple that amount.
He said this does not seem good to drive the business from a sustainable basis, adding that the commission is presently looking at business.
“So far, we have two that are States and one that has a National outlook which is Consolidated Hallmark. Already, the company has an insurance culture. The National company is required to operate with N600 million and of course, it will not be adequate. So we still believe that we need to do much more in micro-insurance and financial inclusion in general, for us to get the desired penetration,” he said.
According to the guideline on micro-insurance issued by NAICOM, a National Insurer, who seek composite micro-insurance licence, is expected to be capitalised to the tune of N600 million, while N400 million minimum capital base is needed from a general micro-insurance and N200 million for Life operations.
It noted that national operators are allowed to have a presence in at least six states within the three geopolitical zones of the federation.
For a state microinsurer, the minimum capital base is pegged at NI00 million, broken into N60 million for general and N40 million for life operators. The regulator also expects such underwriter to operate only in one state of federation with at least three branches or office locations, each in a different Local Government Area.
A unit microinsurer investor must be capitalised to the tune of N40 million, N25 for general business and N15 million for life, with operation in one location within a local community.
The regulator has, therefore, made it mandatory for these microinsurance outfits to make themselves visible and must be seen to be serving the low-income earners grassroots.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria slightly surpassed its quota set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in July 2026.
In the month under review, the country produced about 1.57 million barrels of crude oil per day.
It was the third consecutive month Africa’s largest oil-producing nation was meeting its monthly quota, set to stabilise the price of the commodity on the global market by the oil cartel.
Data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Wednesday showed that the 1.5 million barrels per day ceiling for Nigeria was surpassed last month.
The agency disclosed in a statement today that the country produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.
In the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.
Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.
This was attributed to the decline in production due to operational challenges experienced at the Erha and Akpo fields, which impacted crude oil output during the period under review.
These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output.
Despite the challenges, production operations across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures aimed at maintaining production efficiency and minimising the impact of operational constraints, NUPRC stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The over 9 billion shares of Lasaco Assurance Plc issued to shareholders of the company via a rights issue have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The equities were brought to Customs Street on Wednesday by the organisation, increasing its total issued and fully paid-up share capital.
Lasaco Assurance, which scaled the recapitalisation hurdle of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in July 2026, raised fresh capital from the capital market to shore up its capital base.
The underwriting firm got about N18.5 billion from the rights issue, which involved the issuance of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares at a unit price of N2.00.
The exercise was on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
Confirming the listing of the additional stocks of Lasaco Assurance today, the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, announced in a circular that, “Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Lasaco Assurance Plc were today, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares arose from the company’s rights issue of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
“With the listing of the additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up share capital of Lasaco Assurance Plc has now increased from 11,083,585,855 to 20,319,907,401 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has said the successful recapitalisation of the insurance industry will strengthen the sector’s ability to support financial stability and economic growth.
NIA Chairman, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said a well-capitalised insurance industry would be better positioned to meet its obligations promptly, underwrite complex and large-scale risks and serve as a dependable pillar of the Nigerian economy.
She made the remarks while commending the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for its structured implementation of the new minimum capital requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
Mrs Nwachukwu said NAICOM’s clear guidelines, systematic verification process, defined timelines and rigorous supervision had provided operators with a credible framework for navigating the recapitalisation exercise.
She described the outcome as a major milestone for the industry and congratulated the 43 insurance and reinsurance companies that have successfully met the prescribed minimum capital requirements.
According to her, the exercise represents “a major win not just for regulators and operators, but for policyholders, investors and the wider Nigerian economy.”
Mrs Nwachukwu said the association would continue to work with NAICOM and other stakeholders to consolidate the gains of the exercise, with emphasis on sustainable industry growth, stronger market conduct and improved consumer confidence.
The official also expressed solidarity with the eight companies still undergoing final verification and regulatory review, urging them to remain confident as NAICOM completes the process within the 14-day review period.
The NIA chairman assured policyholders and the wider business community that the insurance industry would emerge from the recapitalisation exercise stronger, more resilient and better positioned to contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
