BMI's Executive Summary for the Nigeria Insurance Report

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Nigeria's insurance sector is like no other that is surveyed by BMI. In November 2007 the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, seized control of the largest insurer, NICON, which had been privatised in 2005. NAICOM's ousting of NICON's dominant shareholder and CEO, Jimoh Ibrahim is the latest move in a long-running saga in which each side has alleged improper conduct by the other.

NAICOM's battle with Jimoh Ibrahim is being fought in the Federal High Court as well as in the offices of NICON, which were occupied by riot police under NAICOM's direction. In mid-October 2007 NICON and its affiliate Nigeria Reinsurance had obtained an injunction in the Federal High Court that effectively stopped the NAICOM-supervised recapitalisation and consolidation of the industry, which had begun in 2005. By late November 2007 NAICOM had finally (almost nine months later than planned) identified the 49 insurance companies that are permitted to operate in Nigeria. Relative to 2005, when there were over 100 companies, it would be fair to say that the competitive landscape has become tidier. Unfortunately, over US$1bn in new capital earmarked for these groups was, as a result of the injunctions obtained by Jimoh Ibrahim and his companies, frozen in an official escrow account.

NAICOM itself has not been immune from controversy. In May 2007 NAICOM's commissioner and CEO, Emmanuel Okechukwu Chukwulozie, was dismissed amid allegations of corruption and impropriety in the supervision of the recapitalisation and consolidation exercise.

Even in relation to other notoriously corrupt countries where transparency is low, hard numbers on Nigeria's insurance industry are hard to find. Few companies publish financial details that are more recent than 2006. For some the latest figures are even older. NAICOM has not published statistics for the industry since 2004, when it released the numbers for 2002. However, press reports indicate that premiums have been growing rapidly. Given the expansion in the economy and the prospects of fresh capital for the insurance companies, this is not surprising.

NICON traditionally had a market share of 40-50%. As recently as November 2007 press reports have suggested that it has maintained its share within the entire sector (i.e. including both non-life and life business) at this level, in spite of its many and well-publicised problems. Assuming that NICON has kept its leading position, simple arithmetic suggests that the average Nigerian insurance company wrote gross premiums of less than US$10mn in 2007. In the hypothetical event that NICON's business had disappeared, the average company would have written about US$20mn in business. In other words, the insurance sector is fragmented and consists of companies that are tiny by most standards. The challenges of doing business in Nigeria are such that very few multinational groups have a presence on the ground. AIG, operating through its affiliate AIICO, appears to be the only one. For the time being Nigeria does not appear to be a country where foreign groups are going to drive a major round of consolidation. Nevertheless, in the event that the regulatory environment improves over the next two to three years, the positive impact could be huge.

Contents of the Nigeria Insurance Report

The Sector At A Glance

Table: Overview Of Nigeria's Insurance Sector

Key Insights On Nigeria's Insurance Sector

SWOT Analysis

Nigeria Industry SWOT

Key Features Of This Report

Latest News

Projections And Forecasts

Table: Premiums – Historical Data And Forecasts, 2005-2012

Projections And Drivers Of Growth

Table: Growth Drivers

Country Update

Macroeconomic Outlook

Table: Nigeria – Economic Activity

Political Outlook

Insurance Business Environment Ratings

Table: Nigeria – Insurance Business Environment Indicators

Table: Insurance Business Environment Ratings

Analysis Of Competitive Conditions

Nigeria – Non-Life Segment

Table: Presence Of Cross-Border Insurers, Non-Life

Nigeria – Life Segment

Table: Presence Of Cross-Border Insurers, Life

Methodology

Basis Of Projections

Insurance Business Environment Rating

Table: Insurance Business Environment Indicators And Rationale

Table: Weighting Of Indicators

Competitive Landscape for The Middle East and Africa Insurance
    Reports: Sample of Companies Ranked

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A cross-border overview of key players and their insurance market share across the Middle East and Africa. Tables and graphs show country presence of multinationals across the region. Comparative company analyses and rankings by premium income (life and non-life). Company SWOTS for leading life and non-life insurers, covering network of offices, presence of foreign stakeholders, strategic relationships, joint ventures; portfolio of clients; diversity of product range; profit growth, investment strategy and risk exposure.

Network of Insurance Sources

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BMI's Middle Eastern and African Insurance Reports are based on an extensive network of multilateral organisations, government departments, insurance industry associations, chambers of commerce and company reports. Information sources include:

Read about our other Insurance Reports