Nigeria’s Insurance firms face 650 per cent minimum capital requirement rise in proposed bill

Insurance companies in Nigeria will soon witness an estimated 650 percent increase in new minimum capital requirements.

This will be the case if the proposed ‘Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Bill 2024’ bill scales through on the floor of the Senate.

The bill has successfully scaled a second reading on the floor of the Senate and seeks to increase the minimum capital requirement of life insurance companies from the current N2 billion to N15 billion, and general business from N3 billion to N25 billion.

Also, the reinsurance business will increase from N10 billion to N45 billion, according to the proposed bill document.

The Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Bill, 2024 (SB 393), largely sponsored by Mukhail Adetokunbo Abiru, chairman of, the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance, and other Financial Institutions, alongside 41 other senators.

Abiru, speaking in support of the bill, explained that the bill’s objective is to establish a comprehensive legal framework for regulating and supervising all types of insurance businesses in Nigeria.

He stressed the necessity of reforms to fully realise this potential and contribute to the nation’s economic growth.

Recall that last year, Tony Elumelu, the chairman of Heirs Holdings had proposed an upward review of the capital requirements of consolidated insurance companies operating in Nigeria.