One of the pertinent worries that has trailed the Christmas Day fire incident at the popular Balogun Market in Lagos State is whether the buildings affected were insured.
Pinnacle Daily reported that the fire, which destroyed the Great Nigeria Insurance House on Martins Street, Lagos Island, broke out at about 5 p.m. on Wednesday.
LASEMA and the Fire Service battled the inferno for more than 10 hours, with flames persisting into Christmas morning and subsequently spreading to adjacent structures, including a mosque and Oluwole Plaza in the area.
This recurring incident in the Lagos market has destroyed millions of naira worth of goods and put traders at risk.
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“No written report can truly reflect the pain or full extent of this loss,” Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said while expressing deep sadness over the fire incident on his X handle on Thursday after an on-the-spot assessment of the incident.
Nigerians’ reaction
The governor’s statement generated several reactions, including that the state fire service lacked the required equipment to contain such a fire incident.
Some even castigated the state government for not having a fire service station in the whole of Balogun and Idumota market, which gives the state and the Lagos Island local government billions in tax revenue yearly.
While some others urged the state government to increase its budget size and make provision for helicopter fire service equipment, others simply asked whether the buildings and traders insured their properties.
“It’s time for compulsory law on insurance on properties and goods. “Please mandate insurance and ensure fire hydrants are put in public markets,” Ridwan Daud commented on the governor’s post.
Omoba Adedimeji added that the insurance policy be made compulsory “for every building, especially buildings occupied by business owners, and reduce the economic effect of such loss.”
What new insurance law offers
The Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025, which was signed into law by President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday, August 5, is expected to catalyse new investments, boost consumer confidence, and position Nigeria as a leading insurance hub in Africa.
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The new Act repeals and consolidates several outdated insurance laws into a single, modern legal framework, providing for comprehensive regulation and supervision of all insurance and reinsurance businesses operating within Nigeria.
It has ushered in a new era of transparency, innovation, and global competitiveness for the insurance industry.
According to the federal government, the NIIRA 2025 will help ensure the enforcement of compulsory insurance policies to enhance consumer protection and the digitisation of the insurance market to improve access and efficiency.
It will further ensure zero tolerance for delayed claims settlement, creation of dedicated policyholder protection funds in insolvency cases, and expanded participation in regional insurance schemes like the ECOWAS Brown Card System.
The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has been mandated 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.
What has been missing in the insurance space
According to an insurance expert, Ekerete Ola Gam-Ikon, about 99 per cent of Nigerians are expecting the remaining one per cent to do something about the one thing that distorts the lives and livelihoods of 99 of every 100 Nigerians.
He explained that one insurance policy of any individual, business or government serves as the protection for the rest of the others.
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“It is the same thing as one family member bearing the burdens of others, or a community head standing up for the rest of us,” Gam-Ikon said.
He noted that for decades, Nigerians have been helping and supporting themselves through the insurance policies they have but have not quite appreciated this because they do not relate it to their expectations.
“Insurance claims amounting to hundreds of billions of Naira annually (sometimes equal to the budgets of States) are paid to individuals and businesses that had active insurance policies.
“These payments stabilise the economy and secure the future for individuals and businesses,” Gam-Ikon explained.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, the Nigerian Insurance Commission (NAICOM) reported a rise in consumer confidence in insurance policies.
It said this was reflected in the net claims paid, which amounted to N622.0 billion, representing 80 per cent of all the total claims reported during the quarter.
It shows that the Life Insurance sector achieved an impressive net claims settlement ratio of 84 per cent of the total reported claims, while the Non-Life segment recorded a ratio of 78.1 per cent during the same period.
The non-life insurance policy, also known as general or property and casualty insurance, protects individuals and businesses from financial losses due to specific, non-life-related risks like property damage, theft, liability, and health issues, offering compensation for covered accidental losses with policies typically short-term and focused on indemnifying actual damages or expenses.
Meanwhile, life insurance is a policy that pays out a sum of money either on the death of the insured person or after a set period.
What the NIIRA 2025 promises
– Stronger insurance providers
– Better customer experiences
– Smarter digital platforms
– More opportunities for collaborations
What will drive penetration
According to Gam-Ikon, so often, Nigerians talk about enforcement and think regulatory actions will drive penetration, but experience has shown that the combination of efforts to formalise existing relationships and advocacy through established public institutions would deliver our collective objectives.
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“The conversations about our expectations have to be managed across the insurance industry with regulators, reinsurers, general insurers, life assurers, microinsurers, takaful operators, brokers, loss adjusters, web aggregators, insurtechs, agents, shareholders and policyholders.
“No matter what services and products exist in agriculture, industry and services, the connections with the insurance industry are boundless,” he said.
He believes that finding the right fit for people’s skills, abilities and knowledge in this matrix is the true mission for the new vista the NIIRA2025 offers to all Nigerians.
“In our season of celebrations, insurance has a role to play, whether you are marking an anniversary, holding a funeral or launching a new venture or more. Let’s not permit financial losses when we can admit insurance into our planning.
“Keep it simple. Tell someone to take insurance seriously because NIIRA2025 is seriously repositioning our minds beyond the festivities.
“Insure whatever you are celebrating. 2026 beckons with greater opportunities, hopes and expectations, thanks to #NIIRA2025,” Gam-Ikon advised.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X
