Nigeria's National Insurance Commission warns that National Cooperative Insurance Society is illegally selling compulsory third party motor insurance

Nigeria’s National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) issued a public alert warning Nigerians about illegal third party motor insurance operators and cooperative insurance societies that are selling or underwriting compulsory Third Party Motor Insurance without authorisation. NAICOM stated that the National Cooperative Insurance Society of Nigeria (NCIS) is not a NAICOM-licensed insurance company and that any third party motor insurance policy issued by NCIS or its affiliates is illegal. NAICOM cited the NAICOM Act 1997 and the Insurance Act 2003 as providing that only NAICOM can license insurance companies to transact insurance business, including Third Party Motor Insurance. The alert follows an enforcement exercise by the Nigeria Police Force and the Federal Road Safety Corps that has been ongoing since 1 February 2025, and it rejects as illegal and misleading an NCIS statement issued on 19 February 2025 asserting the validity of its motor insurance transactions. NAICOM also highlighted that policies from licensed insurers provide access to benefits including a NGN 3m third party property damage limit, medical treatment for bodily injuries, and compensation for deaths. NAICOM warned that NCIS will be prosecuted if it does not desist from the activity and reiterated that it has previously circulated, and publishes on its website, the list of insurance companies authorised to sell or underwrite mandatory third party motor insurance.