The Nigerian Senate has passed the Insurance Regulatory Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2026, to repeal and re-enact the law establishing the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), effectively renaming it the Insurance Regulatory Commission (IRC).
The legislation was adopted after the Senate’s committee on banking, insurance, and other financial institutions reported that the existing NAICOM Act of 1997 was outdated and no longer aligned with Nigeria’s evolving insurance industry or global regulatory standards.
The bill aims to eliminate confusion over the agency’s name, strengthen its independence, and expand its regulatory powers, including better collaboration with domestic and international bodies and more effective intervention in distressed insurance companies. Senator Adetokunbo Abiru, who led the committee, emphasized that the new law provides legal protection for the commission and its officers while addressing significant regulatory gaps to support Nigeria’s economic growth and policyholder protection
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