The gross premium by the Nigerian insurance industry for the fourth quarter of 2023 stood at N1.003 trillion.

This represents about 27 per cent growth compared to N790 billion recorded in 2022.

This is disclosed in the fourth quarter Insurance Industry’s Market Performance made available by the Statistics Department of the Directorate of Research, Statistics and Publications of the National Insurance Commission on Tuesday in Lagos.

NAICOM said that the figure indicated a progressive trend of positive market performance at the close of the 2023 fourth quarter.

The commission stated that the insurance market recorded total assets of N2.67 trillion and a capitalisation of N851 billion in 2023.

According to NAICOM, the net claims posted by the industry are N669.4 billion, as the non-life segment contributed N329 billion, while the life segment recorded N340.4 billion.

The commission said that non-life businesses accounted for 61.3 per cent of all premiums written during the year, worth N615.1 billion, while the life segment contributed 38.7 per cent, valued at N388.1 billion.

The regulator noted that the market also recorded retention of about 87.7 per cent for the life business and about 54 per cent for non-life, while the aggregate market average retention stood at 66.7 per cent in the period under review.

NAICOM revealed that the major growth drivers in the non-life segment of the market are oil and gas and fire insurance, contributing N167.8 billion, representing 27.3 per cent and N148 billion, which indicated 24.1 per cent of the total premium, respectively.

Meanwhile, the industry posted gross claims of N536.5 billion at the close of the fourth quarter of 2023, indicating total non-life business of N312.3 billion and life business of N224.2 billion.

The market average stood at about 71.4 per cent of the gross claims, while the net claims stood at N382.9 billion.

NAICOM noted that 95 per cent of net claims were attributed to life business, reflecting ongoing regulatory measures on claim settlement.

It was further said that the “no-premium, no-cover” policy contributed to a decline in outstanding premiums, which accounted for 89 per cent of all premiums generated during the period. 

(NAN)