Economy
Nigeria’s Insurance Sector Premium Grows 20.1% in Q2 2022
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s insurance sector, in the second quarter of this year 2022, recorded N369.28 billion premium, indicating 20.1 per cent growth compared to the performance in the same period the previous year.
This was contained in the latest sector performance statistics released by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), which indicated a 65.0 per cent quarter-on-quarter performance.
Describing this as a notable performance, NAICOM said the performance analysis was an insight into the market behaviour of the insurance sector in the period under review.
Giving a premium contribution analysis by each class of business, the commission said out of the N369.2 billion, life insurance contributed N150.0 billion, followed by oil and gas insurance which yielded N71.2 billion, fire insurance yielded N45 .3 billion, while motor insurance yielded N32.4 billion, with marine insurance contributing N26.9 billion premiums and general accident policy yielding N24.0 billion.
According to NAICOM, the performance showed that the insurance sector grew 20.1 per cent higher than the National Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 3.5 per cent during the same period.
NAICOM said the proportional participation of each class of business suggested the continued improvement of the life insurance business as driven by its component of the individual life, noting that the Non-Life segment maintained its primacy at 59.3 per cent of the total premium generated.
“Insights in the segment show Oil & Gas was the leading driver at 32.5 per cent with a distant second at 20.7 per cent for Fire. Motor Insurance stood at 14.8 per cent while Marine & Aviation, General Accident and Miscellaneous reported a share of 12.3 per cent, 10.9 per cent and 8.9 per cent in this order.
“Life business, on the other hand, recorded 40.6 per cent of the insurance market production as its share contribution, gradually closing up. The share of Annuity in the Life Insurance business logged at about 24.7 per cent while Individual Life held a major driver position at 41.8 per cent of the premium generated during the period”, the commission said.
NAICOM said operational confidence remained high in spite of economic challenges in the financial system and the economy at large, as demonstrated by the relevant retention positions in the sector.
According to the commission, Life business retention for the period was 93 per cent while non-life recorded a ratio of 55 per cent as the industry average stood at about 70.5 per cent.
The commission said retention in the non-life, despite reporting an above-average level relative to its prior position of 59.4 per cent in the preceding year, would require focused attention for improvement as it declined by over four points representing eight per cent, year on year.
The commission said the sector during the period witnessed only 0.2 per cent growth in claims compared to the corresponding period of 2021. It said the industry’s statistics for gross claims in Q2 of 2022 stood at N174.8 billion, representing 47.3 per cent of all premiums generated during the period.
“This occasion reflects the professional underwriting capacity of the industry as driven by the intensified regulatory activities of the Commission. On the other hand, the net claims paid stood at about N148.2 billion, signifying 84.8 per cent of all gross claims reported during the period. The Life Insurance business recorded a near perfect point of about 88.90 per cent claims settlement as against the reported claims while the non-life segment stood at about 76.8 per cent”, NAICOM said.
According to the commission, the performance in the Oil & gas in terms of claims settlement recorded some improvement compared to quarter two of the previous year.
The commission was optimistic that sustained market development and growing confidence in the industry would eventually improve the negative peculiarities and challenges of that section of the market.
Profit-wise, NAICOM said the Insurance market remained profitable during the period, recording an overall industry average of about 56.9 per cent, thereby maintaining a relative position of 57.7 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of the preceding year.
By Dipo Olowookere
The first trading session of the week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended in the green territory on Monday, with a 1.20 per cent rise.
This was buoyed by the gains recorded by Airtel Africa and other equities, according to analysis of data harvested from the Customs Street yesterday.
During the trading day, the consumer goods index grew by 0.76 per cent, enough to offset the losses recorded by the other sectors.
The insurance counter shrank by 1.64 per cent, the banking space lost 0.24 per cent, the energy sector contracted by 0.09 per cent, and the industrial goods segment retreated by 0.05 per cent.
When trading activities ended for the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) was up by 2,956.15 points to 248,529.75 points from 245,573.60 points, and the market capitalisation gained N1.909 trillion to finish at N160.422 trillion compared with the previous session’s N158.513 trillion.
Fortis Global Insurance expanded by 10.00 per cent to N2.86, Chams surged by 9.80 per cent to N4.48, NAHCO jumped by 9.29 per cent to N153.00, Airtel Africa soared by 8.59 per cent to N6,300.00, and Sovereign Trust Insurance rose by 6.59 per cent to N1.78.
Conversely, AVA Capital shed 10.00 per cent to N9.90, Ecobank decreased by 9.92 per cent to N64.95, Caverton crashed by 9.09 per cent to N5.00, Ikeja Hotel slipped by 8.41 per cent to N43.00, and FTN Cocoa dropped 8.37 per cent to trade at N8.10.
A total of 23 equities were on the gainers’ chart yesterday, while 37 equities ended on the losers’ table, indicating a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment.
As for the activity log, the trading volume remained elevated, though lower than the preceding session, as it receded by 26.67 per cent to 1.1 billion units from 1.5 billion units. The trading value, however, increased by 1.12 per cent to N27.0 billion from N26.7 billion, while the number of deals advanced by 39.00 per cent to 59,185 deals from 42,580 deals.
Consolidated Hallmark was the most active stock yesterday, with a turnover of 354.1 million units valued at N1.5 billion, Fortis Global Insurance traded 307.3 million units worth N818.3 million, Access Holdings exchanged 48.1 million units for N1.4 billion, Chams transacted 37.4 million units worth N163.3 million, and First Holdco sold 35.8 million units valued at N5.1 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices traded 5 per cent higher on Monday after Iran and the United States argued about demands for compensation, further stalling a possible deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude futures chalked up $4.17 or 4.99 per cent to sell at $87.72 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures surged $3.95 or 5.05 per cent to $82.13 per barrel.
Iran said the US must lift sanctions on it and meet other conditions for reopening the vital waterway, which carried a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas before the start of the Middle East conflict in late February.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said Iran must pay compensation for “all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded.”
This comes as the Middle East country said it was nearing a final pact with Oman to define new shipping lanes through the strait but repeated that the US must meet other conditions, including compensation and an end to sanctions and military threats before the strategic waterway is reopened.
In a further threat to supply, the Iran-aligned Houthis said they had struck Saudi Aramco’s Jazan refinery on Sunday. Saudi Aramco has postponed the restart of the 400,000-barrel-per-day refinery to August 30 after two Houthi attacks in recent weeks.
ADNOC, a state-owned oil company in the United Arab Emirates, said on Friday that 15 of its vessels had been attacked while transiting the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the conflict.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military continued to attack Russia’s energy infrastructure, hitting the Taneco oil refinery in Tatarstan and the ZapSibNeftekhim petrochemical plant in Russia’s Tyumen region.
On the US supply side, stocks of crude oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) fell by about 6.1 million barrels to 298.7 million barrels last week, the lowest level since January 1983.
Bank of America (BoFA) warned that oil prices could continue climbing into the winter if the US and Iran fail to reach an agreement reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with severe shortages already emerging in diesel, petrol, and global natural gas markets.
Mr Francisco Blanch, Bank of America’s head of commodities and derivatives research, told CNBC on Monday that only around 5 to 10 ships per day are currently passing through Hormuz, compared with roughly 140 before the war. With some crude now being rerouted through Saudi Arabia and the UAE, traffic would need to recover to around 80 to 100 ships per day just to stabilise energy markets.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions has called for stronger collaboration among financial sector regulators and other stakeholders to strengthen Nigeria’s financial system and support sustainable economic growth.
The committee made the call during an expanded stakeholders’ engagement in Lagos, attended by the leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), among other industry stakeholders and financial experts.
Chairman of the committee, Mr Adetokunbo Abiru (Lagos East), who was represented by Mr Osita Izunaso (Imo West), said stronger legislative reforms and regulatory collaboration were necessary to reposition Nigeria’s financial architecture for long-term economic prosperity.
Mr Abiru said the financial sector remained critical to investment, job creation, business expansion and macroeconomic stability, stressing that its ability to mobilise savings, channel credit to productive sectors, facilitate investment and manage risks was fundamental to sustainable economic growth.
He said the current economic realities required closer collaboration between the legislature and financial regulators, noting that challenges confronting the sector were interconnected and could not be effectively addressed through isolated interventions.
The lawmaker identified inflationary pressures, global economic uncertainties, cybersecurity threats, low insurance penetration and the need to diversify Nigeria’s export base as some of the challenges requiring coordinated policy responses.
He said the engagement was aimed at generating practical solutions to strengthen the country’s financial architecture and support sustainable economic growth.
According to him, monetary policy, financial safety nets, banking institutions, the insurance industry and export finance were interdependent components of a stable financial system and must therefore be strengthened collectively.
The Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Mr Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, said the Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025 had contributed significantly to stabilising and repositioning the insurance sector.
Mr Omosehin disclosed that 43 insurance companies had successfully recapitalised, describing the development as a major milestone for the industry.
He commended Abiru and members of the committee for their role in advancing insurance sector reforms and urged the House of Representatives to expedite action on the relevant insurance reform bill to enable it to receive presidential assent and become operational.
Representatives of the CBN Governor and the Managing Directors of AMCON, NEXIM and NDIC also commended the Senate committee for its oversight and legislative support, saying its interventions had strengthened the agencies’ capacity to discharge their statutory mandates.
The engagement, held under the theme, Strengthening Financial System Architecture for Sustainable Economic Growth and Stability in Nigeria, also featured presentations by Professor Uche Uwaleke, President of Capital Market Academics of Nigeria (CMAN); Professor Biodun Adedipe, Chief Consultant, B. Adedipe Associates Limited; and Dr Tilewa Adebajo, Chief Executive Officer of CFG Advisory.
The experts presented policy recommendations on key issues affecting Nigeria’s financial system, with emphasis on financial stability, investment and sustainable economic growth.
Mr Abiru said the Senate would continue to engage financial regulators and other stakeholders to deepen financial inclusion, strengthen public confidence in financial institutions and improve regulatory effectiveness.
He said the broader objective was to position Nigeria’s financial system to compete more effectively in the global economy while remaining resilient and responsive to the country’s economic transformation agenda.
