By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Nigeria Insurance sector recorded a total asset of N2.67 trillion as at Fourth Quarter of 2023, latest data from the statistics department of the directorate of Research, Statistics and Publication of the National Insurance Commission(NAICOM) has revealed.
The industry also recorded total Capitalization of N851 billion within the period under review, the report added.
From the report, the Insurance industry of Nigeria has sustained its progressive trend of positive market performance at the close of 2023 fourth quarter, recording a milestone growth to close at N1.003trillion, representing about 27 per cent growth compared to the N790billion recorded in 2022.
According to the report, “Non-Life business accounted for 61.3 per cent of all premiums written during the year while the Life segment contributed 38.7 per cent, valued at N388.1billion.
“The market also recorded a retention of about 87.7 per cent for the Life business, just about 54 per cent for Non-Life while the aggregate market average retention stood at 66.7 per cent during the same period.
“Major growth drivers in the non-life segment of the market were Oil & Gas and Fire Insurances, contributing 27.3% and 24.1% respectively”.
NAICOM further disclosed that the Life business recorded about 95 per cent of net claims to the total recorded claims during the year while the market average stood at about 71.4 per cent of the N536.5billion gross claims reported at the close of fourth quarter, 2023.
The Commission added that in line with its “no-premium no-cover” policy, the outstanding premium continue to decline, posting a 1.6 per cent as outstanding of all the premiums generated in the market during the period.