Joseph Inokotong, Abuja

Chairman of Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), Tope Smart, has appealed to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to support insurers’ bid to meet the new capital base prescribed by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

The NIA chairman said that out of 59 insurance companies comprising 14 specialist life insurance companies, 28 General Insurance companies, 13 composite insurers, two takaful insurance companies and two reinsurance companies, about 32 of them are listed on the Exchange.

He declared the NIA’s support for the Exchange and welcomed the initiatives aimed at strengthening the cordial relationship existing between the Association and the Exchange.

He said the insurance industry is an important sector of the economy that is too critical to be ignored, and promised to assist insurance companies in their bid to meet the new capital requirement.

The Commission had increased the capital requirements for insurance and reinsurance companies from N2 billion to N8 billion for life insurance companies, N3 billion to N10 billion for general business underwriters, N18 billion for composite insurers and N20 billion for reinsurance companies with a one year timeline for compliance.

In a statement by the Controller, Corporate Communications, Human Resources & Admin of the NIA, Davis Iyasere, said that Mr. Smart stated this while addressing the Director-General of the Exchange, Oscar Onyema and Executive Management of the Nigerian Stock Exchange when he paid a courtesy visit to the exchange.

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Mr. Smart, while sounding the Closing Gong, solicited the support of the exchange and other players in the capital market, and asked for palliatives for insurance industry in their efforts to raise the new capital as required by NAICOM.

Onyema, while speaking on some initiatives of the NSE, said that the exchange will soon introduce some derivatives to take care of takaful insurance products.

He urged the insurance companies to use its knowledge sharing platform in its capacity building and corporate governance training.

Also Director-General of the Association, Mrs. Yetunde Ilori, thanked the Director-General of the NSE and his executives for the opportunity to visit and exchange ideas on how best to collaborate for the benefit of insurance companies.

She thanked them for their support in releasing longer tenured fixed income instruments, which insurance companies can leverage on for greater value for their long term products.

The NIA Chairman was accompanied on the visit by some members of the Governing Council and Executive Management team of the Association.