42 insurance firms default in payment of N34b claims, says NAICOM - The Nation Newspaper (2025)

March 31, 2025 by Omobola Tolu-Kusimo

Forty-two insurance companies with backlogs of unpaid claims have been listed by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

The release of the list against N34 billion unpaid claims was part of a new enforcement of “naming and shaming” by the insurance regulator.

The Commission listed 42 companies with 1,571 aggrieved policyholders stating their names and policy numbers.

But many insurance firms have decried the list as inaccurate and poorly conceived.

Some said they had paid all claims listed against their names.

One of the operators who spoke on condition of anonymity expressed concern, noting that the action of the regulator would further disparage the industry.

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Others, when contacted, showed receipts of claims paid which was still listed by NAICOM as unpaid claims.

Managing Director, AIICO Insurance, Mr. Babatunde Fajemirokun said claim payment is procedural, with rules guiding each stage.

He noted that occasionally, a policyholder may disagree with a claims decision or offer, but this does not imply a failure to act.

“As you know, complaints are a natural part of the insurance business, especially in a large portfolio like ours. What matters is that we have robust processes in place and are committed to settling all genuine claims and benefits promptly,” Fajemirokun said.

Managing Director, REX Insurance, Mrs. Ebele Nwachukwu, said that the publication was not very good for the industry, noting that the commission should have been sent the list to insurers for a final update.

While stating that it is good that the commission wants to be tough on operators, she posited that it has to be toughness with accuracy.

Managing Director, NEM Insurance Plc, Mr. Andrew Ikekhua said any claims not paid by his company might be because they lacked merit or where suspected to be fraudulent.

IEI Managing Director Olasupo Sogelola said the NAICOM list the status rolled out by NAICOM was an old status which has, in several instances, been cleared.

NAICOM had in a statement threatened to sanction all insurance companies who fail to pay outstanding insurance claims.

The statement reads: “Already, the commission directed all insurance companies to commence publications of all outstanding claims in their records because some of them do not have full documentation which is not appropriate as companies are expected to settle their claims naturally.

“We have also said it that there would be consequences for disobeying the Commission’s directive in that regard, one of which will be naming and shaming the defaulting companies because we are doing a lot to ensure insurance companies live up to their responsibility as regard payment of claims.”

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