THE AFRICA BAZAAR Staff Writer
February 3, 2016
Nigerian government has called for a review of the country’s insurance laws, an effort aimed at making the laws compliant with modern day insurance practices.
The review, ordered by Nigeria Ministry of Finance, is expected to form the basis of a new law that will be drafted and then sent to the National Assembly for consideration.
The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, said that a committee, chosen from both public and private sectors, has been established to carry out the review.
The review committee, chaired by Omogbai- Omo Eboh, an Insurance Law expert in Nigeria, and Talmiz Usman, head of NAICOM at legal department, is expected to submit a report within three months. The committee is funded by the National Insurance Commission.
Minister Adeosun said the committee is tasked with reviewing and sourcing recommendations from the nation’s current insurance laws and market obstacles and how to address those challenges as well as design a framework for legislation that will be based on aligning the laws to comply with other financial regulators in the country.
Nigeria, who is trying to forestall a recession by exploring more stringent and prudent economic options to kick start its economic recovery, said the comparative review of the bill will help address the challenges and needs of the insurance industry and will provide the basic framework needed to align the insurance laws with other international practices.
Nigeria’s decision comes after U.S.-based social impact investment firm Leapfrog Investment bought a majority stake in Ghanian UT Life Insurance company ltd.
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