Senate passes bill to overhaul insurance regulation, replaces 1997 NAICOM Act

The Nigerian Senate voted on Tuesday to pass a bill that eliminates the National Insurance Commission Act of 1997 and establishes new legal architecture for regulating the country's insurance industry. The legislation, which passed its third reading during plenary proceedings, renames the regulator and grants it expanded supervisory authority to align with international standards.

The bill restructures the insurance regulatory framework through enhanced enforcement mechanisms and stricter penalties for breaches of regulations. According to the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Financial Institutions, chaired by Senator Adetokunbo Abiru, the overhaul addresses confusion stemming from the outdated nomenclature and extends the authority's operational capacity.

Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in support during the chamber's consideration of the committee's report. Sources indicate the renamed body—referred to as either the Insurance Regulatory Commission or Insurance Regulatory Commission Act in legislative documentation—will operate with greater independence and stronger powers to oversee market participants.

The modernization effort aims to strengthen consumer safeguards and financial stability while bringing domestic insurance regulation into closer alignment with global practices followed by comparable economies. The bill now proceeds to President Bola Tinubu for signature into law.

The legislative action marks the first comprehensive revision to Nigeria's insurance regulatory framework in nearly three decades, affecting how the country's insurance sector conducts operations and responds to supervisory directives.