Unlicensed insurance agents across Nigeria are liable, upon conviction, to a six-month jail term.
This is according to the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu.
By the legislation, unlicensed insurance agents across Nigeria may be arraigned in court for prosecution, with penalties including a fine of N500,000.
According to PART VI – INSURANCE INTERMEDIARIES, Section 37 (1) of the Insurance legislation, a person who transacts business as an insurance agent without having been licensed as required “commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding N500,000.00 or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or to both fine and imprisonment.”
“In addition to subsection (10) of this section, the court may make an order requiring the person to refund any sums collected by him, while so transacting the business, to the rightful owners or other entitled persons,” the legislation states.
Section (2) of the law states that a person shall not be licensed as an insurance agent unless:
The law states further that if the Commission (National Insurance Commission) is satisfied that the applicant has met the requirements of this section and such other requirements as may be prescribed by the Commission in its Service Charter, it shall license the applicant as an insurance agent.
The Commission also has the power to reject the application of any applicant, with the applicant having the option to appeal to the Commission’s board.
The legislation also recommends a penalty of N25 million for individuals found operating unlicensed insurance businesses in the country, as previously reported by Naijaonpoint.
For companies or firms found guilty of the same offense, the penalty doubles, with principal officers of the organization facing fines of N50 million each, alongside the possibility of a two-year prison sentence.
Naijaonpoint previously reported that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assented to the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Bill, 2025, a transformative piece of legislation aimed at modernizing Nigeria’s insurance sector and accelerating the country’s journey toward a $1 trillion economy.
The Act introduces sweeping reforms, including stringent capital requirements, compulsory insurance enforcement, and digitization mandates.
The Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025 is said to have repealed and consolidated several outdated insurance laws into a single, modern legal framework.
The new Act provides for comprehensive regulation and supervision of all insurance and reinsurance businesses operating within Nigeria.
The Act introduces critical measures such as:
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) was mandated by the President to administer and implement the provisions of the NIIRA 2025 in a manner that unlocks the industry’s full potential and significantly improves insurance penetration across the country.
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) was mandated by the President to administer and implement the provisions of the NIIRA 2025 in a manner that unlocks the industry’s full potential and significantly improves insurance penetration across the country.