The regulator’s message is blunt: insurance cannot deepen in Nigeria if operators remain more focused on selling policies than solving the real risks facing households, businesses and communities.

 

The National Insurance Commission has challenged insurers to rethink the way they serve Nigerians, urging the industry to move decisively from a product-driven culture to a consumer-centred model built on relevance, transparency, prompt claims settlement and public trust.

Speaking at the opening of the 2026 Insurance Week in Lagos, Olusegun Omosehin, Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of NAICOM, said the industry must become more responsive to the lived realities of customers if it hopes to deepen penetration and regain credibility in a market where insurance is still too often seen as distant, complex or unreliable. Omosehin was represented by Ekerete Ola Gam-Ikon, Deputy Commissioner for Insurance, Finance and Administration.

His intervention goes to the heart of a long-standing weakness in Nigeria’s insurance economy. The sector has grown in institutional importance, and the passage of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act 2025 has created a stronger legal foundation for capital, governance and policyholder protection. Yet public confidence remains fragile, particularly where customers struggle to understand policies, feel excluded from product design, or experience delay and uncertainty when claims arise.

From Selling Policies to Solving Problems

Omosehin argued that one of the recurring criticisms of Nigerian insurers is that many remain too focused on selling existing products rather than developing solutions that genuinely reflect customer needs.

“Insurers must deliberately transition from a product-centric approach to a customer-centric model,” he said in substance, calling for greater customer involvement in product development, clearer understanding of expectations and insurance solutions more closely aligned with real-life risks.

This is a significant policy signal. Insurance is not simply a financial product stacked on a shelf. It is a promise of protection against loss. When products are designed without adequate attention to the income patterns, risk exposure and literacy levels of potential customers, uptake suffers. Policies may technically exist, but they fail to connect emotionally or commercially with the people they are meant to serve.

A customer-centred market would require insurers to ask more practical questions:
What risks are small businesses most worried about?
How can low-income households access protection without intimidating paperwork?
How can motor, health, agricultural and micro-insurance products be simplified without weakening actuarial discipline?
How can digital channels be used to explain coverage rather than merely push sales?

NAICOM’s message is that the insurance industry must stop assuming demand will automatically follow supply. Trust must be earned through relevance.

Claims Settlement: The “Moment of Truth”

The regulator also placed renewed emphasis on claims settlement, describing it as the decisive test of insurance credibility. Omosehin warned that delays, ambiguities and poor communication during the claims process erode confidence in the sector and discourage wider adoption.

This point cannot be overstated. In insurance, the premium is paid in advance, while the proof of value is deferred until adversity strikes. A policyholder may faithfully pay premiums for years; the entire relationship is judged in the moment of loss. If that moment is met with silence, complexity or avoidable delay, the brand promise collapses.

Recent commentary across the sector has reinforced this concern. Industry stakeholders have repeatedly identified claims settlement as the single most visible measure of insurer credibility and public confidence.

The NIIRA 2025 framework has raised the stakes further. Public commentary on the law has highlighted provisions requiring claims to be settled within stipulated timelines and prescribing penalties where insurers fail to meet those obligations, underscoring the move toward a more accountable market conduct regime.

Insurance Should Not Feel Like a Language Ordinary People Cannot Speak

Omosehin also called for the simplification of insurance documentation and communication, insisting that products should not be perceived as unnecessarily technical or inaccessible.

That concern reflects a practical barrier to insurance growth. Many Nigerians encounter insurance through documents packed with dense clauses, exclusions, technical jargon and fine print. This creates an asymmetry of understanding between insurers and customers. The policy may be legally sound, but if the average buyer cannot easily grasp what is covered, what is excluded and how to claim, confidence is weakened from the outset.

A consumer-first insurance market would prioritise:

• clearer policy wording;
• simpler explanation of benefits and exclusions;
• accessible claims guidance;
• multilingual or localised education where necessary;
• and stronger post-sale communication.

NAICOM’s position is that financial inclusion cannot be achieved with products that ordinary citizens experience as opaque. That is especially important in a country where insurance penetration still lags the scale of the economy and the population.

Consumer Education as a Market-Building Strategy

The NAICOM chief said the Commission remains committed to financial literacy, consumer education and transparency, using strategic partnerships and innovative communication channels to improve public understanding of insurance.

This reflects a wider shift in regulatory thinking. Consumer education is no longer being treated merely as public relations. It is becoming part of the infrastructure required to grow the market.

An uninformed public may underinsure, reject useful products or assume insurance is only for large companies and wealthy individuals. A better-informed public is more likely to compare options, demand fair treatment, understand claims processes and appreciate insurance as a tool for resilience.

That is why Insurance Week matters. Its value lies not only in industry networking, but also in translating the language of insurance into a more public-facing national conversation. NAICOM and industry institutions have increasingly used such platforms to speak about trust, claims, literacy and reform.

NIIRA 2025: A Reform Law That Raises Expectations

Omosehin linked the customer-centred agenda to the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act 2025, describing the law as a catalyst for stronger policyholder protection, governance improvement and sustainable sector growth.

The Act has been widely presented as a major reset for the industry. It consolidates key reform objectives around capital adequacy, transparency, compulsory insurance enforcement, consumer protection and market competitiveness. It also provides for stronger institutional safeguards such as the Insurance Policyholders’ Protection Fund, created to protect policyholders where insurers become distressed or unable to meet obligations.

The policy direction is clear: Nigeria’s insurance industry is being pushed toward a model that is better capitalised, more disciplined and more answerable to the customer.

But legislation alone cannot fix distrust. The industry must translate reform into everyday experience. That means policyholders should see change not only in speeches and statutes, but in faster claims, clearer communication and products that actually fit their needs.

Why This Matters for Nigeria’s Economy

The call for consumer-focused insurance practices is not a narrow industry matter. Insurance sits at the centre of economic resilience. It supports entrepreneurship, protects assets, stabilises families after loss and gives lenders greater confidence in financing business activity. NAICOM itself has repeatedly framed a stronger insurance sector as part of Nigeria’s wider economic development agenda.

A country with weak insurance adoption carries more risk informally. Households rely on savings, relatives or emergency borrowing after shocks. Businesses absorb losses that could otherwise be pooled and managed. Government becomes the fallback responder for risks that private insurance systems should partially cushion.

By insisting that insurers rebuild trust and consumer-focused insurance, NAICOM is effectively arguing for insurance to become more central to Nigeria’s financial architecture. A more trusted insurance market can support:

• stronger household resilience;
• more confident SMEs;
• better infrastructure and asset financing;
• deeper long-term capital formation;
• and a more inclusive financial system.

The consumer is therefore not an afterthought in insurance reform. The consumer is the foundation.

BRANDECONOMY Insight

Nigeria’s Insurance Industry Will Grow When Customers Believe the Promise Again

NAICOM’s message at Insurance Week 2026 is one the industry can no longer afford to ignore: insurance penetration will not deepen simply because operators launch more products or regulators introduce more laws. It will deepen when Nigerians trust the system enough to buy into it voluntarily and repeatedly.

That trust must be built across the full customer journey. It starts with products that make sense. It strengthens through communication that is plain and honest. It becomes real when claims are settled quickly, fairly and transparently. And it hardens into loyalty when policyholders feel respected rather than processed.

The NIIRA 2025 reform framework gives Nigeria’s insurance sector stronger scaffolding. But the sector’s credibility will ultimately be judged in homes, hospitals, workshops, farms and offices — wherever a policyholder discovers whether insurance is indeed a safety net or merely another document purchased in hope.

The industry now faces a strategic choice. It can continue to complain about low awareness and weak penetration. Or it can build the customer-first culture that turns insurance from a reluctant compliance purchase into a trusted household and business necessity.

The path to growth is no longer mysterious. Protect the customer. Honour the claim. Simplify the promise. Trust will follow.