NIIRA: AXA Mansard seeks disciplined execution
By Taiye Olayemi
AXA Mansard Insurance has urged operators to support the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025 through disciplined execution.
The company made the appeal in a statement issued in Lagos on Tuesday by its Chief Client Officer, Rashidat Adebisi.
Adebisi said that restoring trust and deepening industry growth required credible implementation beyond policy announcements.
She noted that industry credibility would not be judged by balance sheet size alone but by the number of Nigerians adequately protected through insurance.
She described recapitalisation and the risk-based capital framework under NIIRA as a historic chance to reposition Nigeria’s insurance industry.
However, she cautioned that capitalisation or digitisation reforms without effective execution would neither enhance customer experience nor strengthen investor confidence.
Adebisi recalled the 2004 banking recapitalisation which cut the number of banks from 89 to 25, while tripling capitalisation and improving public confidence.
She urged the insurance industry to replicate such transformation for sustainable growth.
“The NIIRA presents our industry with an opportunity to support Nigeria’s one trillion dollars economy by addressing demand, supply, and operational challenges,” Adebisi stated.
She explained that the framework empowers insurers to enhance service delivery, improve customer confidence, and strengthen trust.
On the risk-based capital framework, Adebisi described it as “primarily a customer protection tool, and secondarily a regulatory tool”.
She said aligning capital buffers with underwriting risks would enforce better product design, pricing discipline, and prudent investment, assuring stronger policyholder protection.
Responding to consolidation concerns, Adebisi said mergers should be seen as renewal for a stronger industry, not as loss.
She explained that consolidation would enable insurers to invest in technology, speed up claims, widen distribution, and compete regionally.
Adebisi lamented Nigeria’s insurance penetration remained below one per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
She compared this with 17 per cent in South Africa, three per cent in Kenya, and two per cent in Ghana, noting Nigeria’s figure was still weak.
“If NIIRA is well executed, insurance can unlock long-term funds for infrastructure, provide MSME cover, and boost investor confidence,” she said.
She emphasised that MSMEs represent over 90 per cent of Nigerian businesses, making their protection essential for national growth.
“Regulators have provided the framework. It is now up to us, the operators, to rebuild trust, embrace digitisation, and deliver inclusive products,” she said.
Edited by Dorcas Jonah/Kamal Tayo Oropo
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