NAICOM licenses five new insurance firms

The National Insurance Commission, has presented licences to four new insurance firms and one reinsurance company.

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

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.

The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Sunday Thomas, announced that he had handed over operational licences to the five firms.

Addressing journalists at the 2020 media retreat organised by the commission in Ijebuode, Ogun State, Thomas, who was represented by Director, Corporate Communication Department, NAICOM, 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

NAICOM had in a public notice announced three months ago that it had received applications from those companies for registration as insurance and reinsurance companies to transact insurance business 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”.

“Heir Insurance Limited (General) has picked Olaniyi Stephen Onifade as its Managing Director; Stanbic IBTC Insurance Limited picked Akinjide Orimolade as Managing Director; Heirs Life Assurance Limited picked Abah Okoriko and Enterprise Life Assurance Company Nigeria Limited picked Fumilayo Abimbola Omo as the Managing Director.

FBS Reinsurance Limited has the former Commissioner of Insurance, Fola Daniel, as its head.

The statement said FBS was bringing together professionals with proven experience from the brokerage and underwriting units of the industry including Bala ZakariyaU, the former Managing Director of Niger Insurance who currently plays in a support unit of the Nigerian aviation industry, Ahmed Olaniyi Salawu of the Standard Insurance Consultants, and Wole Oshin Bankole of the Custodian Investment Plc that has just taken a plunge into the property sector by taking a large chunk of the United Property Development Company, a subsidiary of the UACN Plc.

According to the statement, these professionals represent those with firm belief that there is a big insurance potential in Nigeria and indeed, the African continent.

Others are Ebele Ofunneamaka Okeke, from Nnewi North, Anambra who rose to the position of the Head of Nigerian Civil Service before her retirement, and also, Yusuf Hamisu Abubakar, a lawyer, and an accomplished administrator and businessman with vast experience at the senior executive level in power and communication sectors.

“The reinsurance firm is required to pay the new N20 billion capitalisation stipulated by the commission under the reform exercise for it to start a business in the industry,” the statement said.