Five Nigerian insurance companies are making a final push to secure full compliance with the National Insurance Commission’s (NAICOM) new minimum capital requirements, as the industry enters the closing stages of a major recapitalisation exercise.
The insurers—Staco Insurance, African Alliance Insurance, Regency Alliance Insurance, Guinea Insurance and Sovereign Trust Insurance—have provided updates on their progress after NAICOM announced that 43 insurance companies had already met the new capital requirements. Several other operators, however, remain under regulatory verification or are still implementing their capital-raising plans.
Staco Insurance said it had remained in constant engagement with NAICOM and was taking steps to meet the required capital threshold. The company recently secured approval for its 2024 audited financial statements and submitted them to the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria. Meanwhile, Regency Alliance Insurance said it had completed its rights issue and private placement, raising about N6.04bn, which it said had taken its capital position above the N15bn minimum requirement for non-life insurers, subject to final verification.
Guinea Insurance also reported significant progress after raising approximately N12.6bn through a rights issue and private placement. The insurer said the fresh funds, combined with its existing paid-up capital, had placed it above the minimum requirement for general insurers, pending NAICOM’s final verification. Sovereign Trust Insurance said it met the recapitalisation deadline on July 31 after its rights issue raised more than N6.6bn, pushing its total equity above N22bn. The company is now awaiting final verification by Ernst & Young and NAICOM.
African Alliance Insurance, meanwhile, said it had submitted its capital-raising plan to NAICOM and was waiting for further regulatory direction before implementation. The developments come after NAICOM declared the completion of the 12-month insurance sector recapitalisation exercise, describing it as a major step towards a stronger and more resilient industry. The regulator said eight additional insurers that submitted evidence of compliance close to the deadline were still undergoing final verification, with decisions expected within 14 days.
source: punch
