By Sade Williams
Insurance practitioners in Nigeria have again, assured aviation players of their capacity to underwrite complex aviation risks, allaying fears that they have hitherto entrained.
This is just as Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, commissioner for insurance and chief executive officer of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Nigeria’s apex regulatory body for the insurance sector said Nigeria is fully compliant with aviation insurance practice globally as far as financiers and leased aircraft are concerned.
They spoke on Tuesday at the 5th CHINET AviaCargo Conference held on the sideline of the 21st Akwaaba African Travel Market at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos.
Themed: “The Emerging Synergy Between Aviation and Insurance,” the event spotlit critical partnerships and discussions between Nigeria’s aviation and insurance industries.
Omosehin, who was represented by Usman Jankara Jimada, deputy commissioner for insurance at NAICOM, emphasised the regulator’s role in protecting aviation stakeholders.
“What we do as a regulator is to ensure that that promise that insurance brings to the table, that in the event something goes wrong, the financial loss that is location by that event you are compensated.”, he said.
He clarified some misconceptions about aviation insurance in Nigeria, explaining that premiums are priced based on risk and in consultation with the international market.
Jimada highlighted reforms such as the enforcement of domestication laws requiring aviation risks to be insured locally before any portion is ceded abroad.
He also hailed the passage of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act 2025, with key features including significantly increased capital requirements for insurers; mandatory specialisation into life or non-life business and improved policyholder protection through a dedicated fund.
According to him, “The insurance policy holder Protection Fund is meant to settle claims in the event insurers are unable to settle, so the error of companies not being able to settle claims is gone for good.”
Also speaking, Kunle Ahmed, chief executive officer of AXA Mansard Insurance Plc and chairman of Nigerian Insurers Association, reassured stakeholders of the industry’s capacity to underwrite complex aviation risks, saying, ‘we have the capacity and experience of arranging insurance cover for all the risks that we are exposed to within the aviation sector.’
He spoke of improved transparency through international ratings and expressed confidence in local insurers’ ability to negotiate terms.
“The purpose of putting together an insurance policy is to be sure that someone will be there for you when there’s a loss,” he said.
Babajide Olatunde-Agbeja, chairman of Boff & Co. Insurance Brokers Ltd, reflected on the current challenges and future potential, saying, ‘Insurance capacity is going lower because of huge claims experience. But when claims experience improves, capacity is attracted—so you put the fund there, working for you, you fly all over the world.’
Abimbola Onakomaiya, president of the Professional Insurance Ladies Association, highlighted the scale and growth of Nigeria’s aviation sector, noting that about 370 registered aircraft and the critical role of insurance.
“There is no way in which you have such a high number of aircraft without having a very strong insurance backing for these aircraft, insurance provides the peace of mind,” she said.
Overall, the conference showcased a commitment to strengthening insurance frameworks within Nigeria’s aviation sector through regulatory reforms, local capacity building, and cross-sector cooperation to ensure sustainable growth and risk management.
