Ebere Nwoji

The federal government has called on insurance operators across West Africa to save the region from losses, often amounting to billions of Naira, incurred annually from climate related risks through collaborations on regional risk-pooling and reinsurance platforms.

The government urged regional insurers to ride on the platform of West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) and embark on data exchange, as well as collaborate with expertise on climate modelling and disaster forecasting and build professional capacity for innovative, sustainable insurance products. Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, stated this at the 2025 WAICA conference hosted by the Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA) at Eko Hotel, Lagos.

Uzoka-Anite stated that Africa lost billions of Naira annually to climate-related disasters.

She said the losses were so huge that traditional budgets could no longer cope with them.

On Nigeria’s efforts to contain the tide of losses, she said the country was advancing frameworks that combined sovereign risk insurance, regional disaster-risk pools, and public–private climate-finance mechanisms to ensure rapid response and fiscal stability.

According to her, the tools strengthen preparedness and prevent disruptions to essential development programmes.

Uzoka-Anite urged insurers across the sub-region to contribute their own efforts through collaboration.

She stated, “No nation can confront this threat alone. The same storms that affect Nigeria affect Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and The Gambia.

“Our solutions, too, must be collective. Through WAICA, we can develop regional risk-pooling and reinsurance platforms, exchange data and expertise on climate modelling and disaster forecasting and build professional capacity for innovative, sustainable insurance products.”

This year’s edition of the conference had the theme, “The West African Insurer in the Face of Climate Change.”

The minister said such cooperation would transform insurance from a business venture into a development enabler for agriculture, trade, and small enterprises.

She said innovation and Inclusion insurance would achieve its true impact only when it reached everyone, such as farmers, market women, artisans, and micro-entrepreneurs.

She said, “We must promote micro-insurance, digital channels, and parametric products that pay out instantly based on verified data. By doing so, we expand coverage, deepen financial inclusion, and strengthen resilience at the grassroots – which remains a priority of the Federal Ministry of Finance.”

Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Olusegun Ayo Omosehin, reinforced the call for regional collaboration and innovation, stating that for Nigeria, NIIRA 2025, as a landmark legislation, enhances financial resilience and deepens public confidence in the insurance system.

Omosehin informed the regional insurers that the Nigerian insurance sector had already embarked on series of reforms targeted at repositioning the sector to weather any storm of risks.

He listed key reforms under the new system to include higher capital requirements for operators, expansion of compulsory insurance classes, and integration of insurance into PPPs for infrastructure and climate projects.

He said these reforms were essential to strengthen national preparedness and ensure long-term sustainability.

“Insurance must evolve from a transactional service into a strategic enabler of development,” he said.

Omosehin added that NAICOM remained committed to enabling policies that would foster cooperation between regulators, industry operators, and development partners.

He stated, “Rain does not fall only on one roof. Climate change does not respect borders. Its impacts are shared, and so must our response be collective.”

Both the minister and the commissioner expressed confidence that with sound regulation, innovation, and regional collaboration, insurance could become a cornerstone of West Africa’s sustainable development agenda.

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