Players in aviation and insurance industries have agreed that there is need for a better synergy by both sectors to enhance the economy.
Speaking at the 5th CHINET AviaCargo Conference held in Lagos, the President of Professional Insurance Ladies Association, Mrs. Bimbo Onakomaiya said a stronger collaboration by both sectors would further deepen safety. She urged the Nigeria Insurance Commission (NAICOM) as the insurance industry regulator in Nigeria, to consider possibilities of compulsory insurance for aircraft parts, drones services and the numerous assets in Nigeria’s aviation industry.
“There are 370 registered aircraft and counting, out of which 197 belong to Nigeria Air Force. There are about 167 domestic airlines, 31 airports, 92 airstrips, 13 scheduled commercial airline operators and growing. A strong insurance back-up is vital for all these operations,” she said.
Speaking on behalf of the Commissioner for Insurance, NAICOM, Dr. Usman Jankara said in July 2025, Nigeria’s President assented to the Nigeria Insurance Policy Reform Act which provided for the Insurance Policy Holders Protection Fund, introduced to ensure that insurance refund is paid by a company and that there is a punishment in the event of a default. He stated that the synergy between insurance and aviation sectors is no longer aspirational but has come into force, adding that NAICOM is about to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) on collaboration between various players in both sectors.
Jankara said the commission has strengthened its Complaints Bureau, upgrading it to a Directorate and that some companies have been suspended from involvement in aviation insurance because claims that ought to be settled were not settled. “So, NAICOM is there to protect aviation stakeholders,” he said.
He also said the Nigeria Insurance Industry Act empowers NAICOM to ensure compulsory insurance but that his would require partners like law enforcement agencies, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and other agencies to enforce, as they need to be engaged on compulsory insurance.
President of Nigeria Insurers Association, Mr. Kunle Ahmed said because aviation is a special risk sector, only 40% of insurance companies write aviation and that Section 8, Sub-section 1 to 5 of the NIRA Act have made it compulsory for aviation companies to have an insurance policy domiciled with NAICOM on commencement of operations as part of efforts to achieve synergy, risks reduction and cover optimization.
Ahmed further said Section 15 mandates insurance companies with initial start-up capital of N3 billion to now have N15 billion if they intend to write aviation company’s risk.
A former Commandant of Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, Grp. Capt. John Ojikutu (Rtd) said it is important to extend the same value enjoyed by insurance of airlines to airports and cargo insurance.
In his intervention, the Chief Executive Officer of Overland Airways Limited, Capt Edward Boyo tasked NAICOM to ensure that all airports in Nigeria are insured as some of the challenges faced by airlines at airports such as inadequacy of wildlife control, ICT, infrastructure and others leave the airlines with losses due to insurance issues.
Moderator of the panel session, Chief Babajide Olatunde-Agbeja, Chairman, Boff & Company Insurance Brokers Limited, stressed that it is important to include in the communicae that assets, liabilities and personnel at airports must be insured. He also advised that group insurance should be adopted by aircraft owners in the case of aircraft insurance so as to achieve benefit of economies of scale.
In her reaction after the event, to airport insurance issues raised, the Managing Director, Chief Executive of FAAN, Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku said “all FGN airports managed by FAAN are insured with the insurance up to date.”
SOURCE: aviationmonitorng.com
