recapitalisation, Olusegun Omosehin, assumes office soon as the new Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission• Industry behind South Africa, Kenya, Ghana recapitalisation, Olusegun Omosehin, assumes office soon as the new Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission .
Non-life insurers planning to play in the tier were expected to boost their capitalisation from N3 billion to N9 billion. While composite underwriters willing to operate in tier 2 were expected to increase their capitalisation to N7.5 billion, non-life operators were pegged at N4.5 billion just as life operators under the tier were expected to increase capitalisation to N3 billion. .
In 2007, at an exchange rate of N125/$, N5 billion was equivalent to $40 million. The same amount is a little above N4 million, which shows what the operators have lost in terms of their risk underwriting capacity. In terms of market value, Nigeria’s insurance net assets are valued at N2.67 trillion or $2.28 billion whereas Statista pegged South Africa’s market at $238.3 billion, which suggests that the insurance industry of the continental rival is about 105 times bigger than that of Nigeria.
Already, experts are warning that the banks have the potential to crowd out other critical sectors in the next two years and the new capital deadline approaches. This could significantly affect the chances of insurers raising fresh funds from both local and international markets. Omosehin would be counting on an early passage of the piece of legislation to clear the way for a seamless recapilisation of the industry or find a way to wriggle out of the legal constraint the pending litigation poses. But analysts are sure the appointee would not be ‘bullied’ out of the ambition to lead a properly capitalised insurance sector.
recapitalisation, Olusegun Omosehin, assumes office soon as the new Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of the National Insurance Commission