Cynthia Ezekwe
Nigeria’s National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has urged the need for a significant increase in insurance agents to boost insurance penetration in the country, citing the need for three million agents to meet this goal. With such a significant number of agents, the commission hopes to drive a deeper and more comprehensive insurance market in Nigeria.
During his visit to the Association of Registered Insurance Agents (ARIAN) in Lagos, Olusegun Omosehin, Nigeria’s commissioner for insurance, underlined the need to dramatically increase the number of active insurance agents in the country. With only 50,000 agents serving Nigeria’s population of over 230 million, Omosehin called for a 50-fold boost to effectively serve the entire population.
To this end, Omosehin stated that NAICOM would work closely with ARIAN to increase the number of agents from 50,000 to 300,000 active members by the end of 2024 and subsequently move the number to three million.
Omosehin highlighted the importance of insurance agents as the catalysts for insurance industry growth, noting that in countries where insurance has thrived, agents have played a pivotal role. He therefore charged insurance agents to maintain the highest levels of ethics and professionalism in their work as they serve as the face of the insurance industry to the general public.
On his part, Olakunle Odewunmi, the ARIAN president, welcomed the commissioner’s appreciation of the critical role that agents play in the insurance value chain.
Odewunmi commended Omosehin’s pledge to address issues surrounding insurance agent licensing and expressed the association’s readiness to support NAICOM’s efforts in fostering the growth of the insurance industry in Nigeria.
