The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has cancelled the registration of NICON Insurance Limited after the insurer failed to meet the minimum capital requirement for its licence category under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025. The cancellation took effect on 3 August 2026, while NAICOM appointed Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume, SAN, as Receiver/Provisional Liquidator to begin the process of winding up the company’s affairs.
In a public notice dated 4 August 2026, Ume said his appointment was made by NAICOM under NIIRA 2025. His responsibilities include tracing, recovering and securing NICON’s assets, verifying its liabilities and facilitating the transfer of its life insurance portfolio to another licensed life insurer, subject to NAICOM’s approval.
NAICOM’s action followed the insurance industry’s recapitalisation exercise. Under the commission’s May 2026 recapitalisation circular, NIIRA 2025 raised minimum capital requirements to ₦10 billion for life insurers, ₦15 billion for non-life insurers, ₦25 billion for composite insurers and ₦35 billion for reinsurers.
NAICOM said on 2 August 2026 that 43 insurance and reinsurance companies had met the new requirements, while other operators remained subject to the regulator’s final compliance process. NICON subsequently lost its registration after failing to meet the applicable requirement within the permitted period.
NICON traces its history to 1969, when the National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria was established. The company was later privatised in 2005 as part of the Federal Government’s privatisation programme. Its subsequent financial and ownership difficulties eventually brought it under increased regulatory pressure.
Following the licence cancellation, Ume directed policyholders, creditors, business partners and other stakeholders dealing with NICON Insurance (In-Liquidation) to channel their claims and other matters through his office. He also said documentary evidence would be required for the verification of claims.
The liquidation process does not mean the company’s outstanding obligations simply disappear. Under NIIRA 2025, the receiver is required to administer the insurer’s assets and liabilities in accordance with the law and the applicable order of priority.
The court process is also still ongoing. On 7 September 2026, the Federal High Court in Abuja fixed 21 September 2026 for hearing of a petition seeking the winding-up of NICON Insurance. The petition was filed by Ume on 12 August 2026, following NAICOM’s cancellation of the company’s licence.
NICON’s case therefore marks a significant test of Nigeria’s new insurance regulatory regime. A company that once occupied an important place in the country’s insurance market has lost its licence after failing to meet the new capital requirement, leaving the regulator, receiver and courts to determine how its assets, liabilities, claims and life insurance portfolio will be handled.
