NAICOM Hands Over Operational Licenses to Five Insurance Firms

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), yesterday handed over operational licenses to four new insurance underwriting and one reinsurance firm.

The new companies are Heir General Insurance Limited, Stanbic IBTC Insurance Limited; Heirs Life Assurance Limited; Enterprise Life Assurance Company Nigeria Limited and FBS Reinsurance Limited.

This brings to a total of 62 insurance underwriting and three reinsurance firms in the country.

For over a decade, the commission, which is the apex regulatory body for insurance sector had placed embargo on licensing of new insurance firms, insisting that interested investors should instead of applying for licenses to float new firms invest and inject funds into existing but financially weak firms.

Before now, there have been in the system 58 underwriting and two reinsurance companies.

But just last year, the commission, said there was need to license new firms and at the 2020 media retreat organised by the commission in Ijebuode, Ogun State, the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Sunday Thomas, announced that he had handed over operational licenses to the five firms.

Addressing journalists at the retreat, Thomas, who was represented by Director, Corporate Communication Department, NAICOM, Mr. Rasaq Salami, said with the licensing, the five firms had received the commission’s authorisation to operate as legal entities in the Nigeria insurance mark.

Barely three months back, NAICOM had in a public notice announced that it had received applications from the above companies for registration as insurance and reinsurance companies to transact insurance businesses in Nigeria.

Part of the notice reads, “National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has received applications from the under listed companies for registration as insurance and reinsurance companies to transact insurance and reinsurance business in Nigeria. In fulfillment of the statutory provisions of extant laws for the registration/licensing of insurance companies, the general public is hereby informed that the Commission has commenced the process of registering the companies”.