E-Financial
NAICOM Warns Insurers Against Dealing with Unlicensed Agents, Brokers
National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has issued a stern warning to insurance operators against dealing with unlicensed agents and brokers if the sector must progress and earn the trust of the public.
Speaking Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, the Insurers Committee of the industry, Chairman of Sub-Committee on Publicity, who is also Managing Director of Royal Exchange General Insurance, affirmed that NAICOM observed the practice (dealing with unprofessional agents and brokers) during the ongoing Risk- Based Supervision (RBS) in some insurance companies.
“The regulator spoke to us very strongly, to ensure that all the agents and brokers we deal with are licensed up-to-date or renewed, as against doing business with brokers with expired licences or unregistered agents,” she said.
The sub-committee chairman posited that NAICOM directed that boards of the various underwriting firms should approve and implement whistle-blowing policies in their respective companies.
Nwachukwu said the committee also agreed on the need for the insurance industry to increase awareness of annuities and continue to build trust to ensure that the product line grows significantly.
“With the amount of funds in the pension industry, we should expect a lot of that to be downloaded into the insurance industry through annuity. Moreover there was need for NAICOM to continue to engage the National Assembly to ensure the passage of the Consolidated Insurance Bill”
She noted that insurers had also begun the process of harmonizing the ECOWAS Brown Card to ensure that the same certificate is issued across all countries in the region using the brown card, noting that insurers took a presentation from KPMG, as part of its planning for the insurance industry’s 10-year Transformation Roadmap.
While emphasizing on the need for continuous improvement in RBS for the growth of the industry and the implementation of risk-based pricing, the Royal Exchange boss said that the committee’s transformation roadmap includes proposals for increased awareness, enhanced market conduct, insurer partnerships with telecommunications and non-insurance channels, digitalisation improvement and deepening of talents, adding that NAICOM has indicated that the kick-off date for RBC may not extend beyond 2024.
“Insurers were charged with digitalisation and improvement of the talents pool as well as making efforts to support national economic growth plan” she added.
Still on the outcome of the meeting, NAICOM expressed dissatisfaction over the backlog of unpaid claims by insurance companies as Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) gets a two-week timeline to publish details of outstanding claims in the industry on their website to aid policyholders who wish to claim their settlements.
According to the commission, reports from the insurance companies show that some outstanding claims were not (as though) the companies are not ready to pay, but that policyholders have not come up with the required documents to conclude the processes.
The regulator moreover expressed optimism that going by progress reports of the insurance sector, it is on track of achieving long-awaited N1tr Gross Premium Income (GPI) target by close of the year, 2023.
Also speaking, Rasaaq Salami, the Head of Corporate Communications & Market Development, NAICOM, said the ultimatum to publish unpaid claims is aimed at making insurance subscribers claim their indemnity.
Salami said the two-week ultimatum given to NIA to execute the publication would be followed by a three-month monitoring period to assess improvements in the industry, adding that if progress is lacking after three months, regulatory action might be taken.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Sunday Thomas, while addressing the issue of claims at an earlier forum said: “Claims payment has always been one aspect the industry is battling to balance.
We all agree that we cannot claim ignorance of the fact that the industry is paying huge claims out there even though the activities of a few among the operators are jeopardizing the efforts of the majority.
“We had, before now, agreed to start ranking companies on the number of claims received and settled every year and we intend to publish such ranking for the insurance consumers. It is always an issue that puts the entire industry on the edge. The commission is doing all it can to see that the non-settlement of claims is brought to its barest minimum in the sector,”
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unveiled a technology adoption assessment survey for registered capital market operators as part of efforts to deepen innovation and efficiency in the Nigerian capital market.
In a circular, the SEC stated that the exercise was designed to evaluate the level of adoption of advanced technologies among CMOs operating within the Nigerian capital market.
According to the notice, “The following technology adoption survey is designed by the Commission to assess the adoption of advanced technologies among registered Capital Market Operators.”
The SEC directed all registered operators to log into the e-portal at using their current access credentials to complete the survey. The exercise will run for two weeks, from 5 to 20 May 2025.
Speaking recently on the role of innovation in the capital market, Emomotimi Agama, director-general of the SEC, urged stakeholders to embrace technology as a catalyst for growth, improved transparency, operational efficiency, and market resilience.
He noted that the SEC recognises the emergence of new financial products and services driven by technological advancements, and remains committed to adapting its regulatory framework to meet the evolving needs of the market.
According to him, the commission’s approach to innovation is anchored on three pillars: investor safety, market deepening, and problem-solving aimed at building a robust and efficient capital market ecosystem.
Agama also highlighted the commission’s Regulatory Incubation Programme, which allows fintech startups to operate within a controlled environment for one year while appropriate rules are developed to govern their activities.
He said the programme is part of the SEC’s broader strategy to support innovation while safeguarding market integrity and investor interests.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) ,has confirmed that Nigeria has fully repaid about US$3.4 billion loan it got in April 2020 under the Rapid Financing Instrument to help alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sharp fall in oil prices.
IMF said the loan has been repaid as of April 30, 2025 in a statement issued in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital on Thursday.
However, IMF said Nigeria is still expected to honour some additional payments in forms of Special Drawing Rights charges hat will amount to US$30 million annually.
“In line with the IMF’s Articles of Agreements, these charges, levied at the SDR interest rate, which is updated at the beginning of each week, apply to the difference between Nigeria’s SDR holdings (SDR 3,164 million) (US$4.3 billion) and its cumulative SDR allocation (SDR 4,027 million) (US$5.5 billion)
“The net payment of the charges stops when Nigeria’s SDR holdings reach the cumulative allocation amount,” IMF said in the statement. Online fitness
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has allotted N598.33 billion in Nigerian Treasury Bills across three different maturities, with the 365-day bill dominating the auction, accounting for 80 percent of total sales and subscriptions.
A total of N482.62 billion was sold in the 365-day tenor, highlighting strong investor interest in the longer-term security.
The 91-day bill saw the least demand, with subscriptions of N48.4 billion and actual sales amounting to just N38.4 billion. This latest issuance brings the total Treasury bill sales for the year to N7.248 trillion.
At the auction held on Wednesday, May 7, the CBN offered N550 billion across the three maturities, N50 billion for the 91-day, N100 billion for the 182-day, and N400 billion for the 364-day bills. Despite total subscriptions dipping to N1.08 trillion from N1.53 trillion recorded at the previous auction, the auction was still oversubscribed, reflecting continued high liquidity in the financial system.
This demand pressure kept yields largely stable. The 365-day bill saw a marginal increase in yield to 24.41 percent from 24.36 percent, while the 182-day and 91-day yields remained unchanged at 20.38 percent and 18.85 percent, respectively. Yields have maintained a consistent level over the last four auctions, indicating a stable interest rate environment despite fluctuations in demand.
As of May 6, 2025, system liquidity stood at N1.21 trillion. When combined with maturing bills worth N287.98 billion, the total available liquidity more than tripled the N550 billion offered at the auction, further underscoring the robust investor appetite for government securities amid high market liquidity.
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