Insurance and maritime experts have called for stronger domestic underwriting capacity to ensure Nigerian insurers retain a larger share of the country’s lucrative maritime risks under the new insurance reform regime.
Nigerian insurers could be sitting on a major opportunity to capture more value from the country’s maritime economy if they can build the capacity to underwrite a larger share of risks locally, industry experts have said.
The call was made at the 2026 Nigeria Marine Insurance Forum Virtual Summit organised by Akabogu & Associates, where maritime and insurance professionals examined the implications of the Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Act 2025 for shipping companies, insurers, cargo owners and other participants in the logistics chain.
Senior Partner at Akabogu & Associates and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr Emeka Akabogu, described the new legislation as a significant development for marine insurance, with potential consequences for risk allocation, domestic underwriting capacity and multimodal cargo operations.
According to him, the reform raises important questions about how insurance should apply to containers and cargo as goods move beyond ships and through ports, trucks, warehouses and other stages of the logistics process.
“Nigeria’s maritime economy requires a stronger domestic insurance ecosystem capable of retaining more value locally,” Akabogu said.
Billions in maritime opportunities
Akabogu pointed to the estimated $10bn charter and freight market recorded about a decade ago, arguing that the scale of Nigeria’s maritime activity demonstrates the potential available to local insurers.
For insurers, the opportunity extends beyond traditional marine cargo cover. As modern supply chains increasingly involve multiple modes of transportation, experts said the industry must develop products and underwriting capabilities that reflect the entire journey of goods.
A partner at Akabogu & Associates, Victor Onyegbado, said NIIRA 2025 could provide an opportunity to tackle weaknesses in Nigeria’s container insurance system.
He warned that the country’s approach had historically placed too much emphasis on shipping risks despite insurance obligations extending across other forms of carriage.
“Nigeria seems to be focused only on shipping risks, even though insurance cover is expanded to other modes of carriage,” Onyegbado said.
Container deposits under scrutiny
The summit also examined the proposed shift away from traditional container deposit arrangements used by shipping lines as security against equipment damage and failure to return containers.
Although the system offered protection to carriers, stakeholders noted that deposits could tie down significant amounts of money belonging to importers and contribute to commercial disputes.
An insurance-backed alternative could reduce the immediate financial burden on businesses, although participants cautioned that the replacement system must not simply introduce other charges that recreate the same problem.
The experts also linked the success of the reforms to longstanding operational problems in Nigeria’s maritime sector, including container detention, empty-container returns, congestion at ports and slow truck turnaround times.
Local insurers urged to seize P&I opportunity
Another major concern raised at the forum was Nigeria’s limited participation in the global Protection and Indemnity insurance market.
Participants argued that the size of Nigeria’s maritime and offshore economy should support greater domestic participation in P&I insurance and allow local insurers to retain a larger proportion of premiums that may otherwise be placed with foreign markets.
However, achieving that objective will require more than regulatory changes.
Akabogu & Associates identified institutional capacity, effective enforcement, stronger industry collaboration and greater market participation as essential to translating NIIRA 2025 into meaningful change.
For insurers, the legislation presents an opportunity to invest in underwriting expertise and expand their ability to carry complex maritime risks.
For regulators, stakeholders said, effective implementation and consistent enforcement will be critical.
Businesses, meanwhile, are looking for a more predictable insurance framework capable of protecting cargo throughout increasingly complex supply chains.
Reform now enters the implementation test
The Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act 2025 was signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in August 2025 after passage by the National Assembly.
The legislation replaced and consolidated several previous insurance laws and is intended to modernise regulation, strengthen consumer protection, improve insurers’ financial capacity and bring Nigeria’s insurance market closer to international standards.
But stakeholders at the marine insurance summit stressed that the real test will be implementation.
The consensus was that NIIRA 2025 has established an important foundation for reform, but its ability to transform Nigeria’s marine insurance market will ultimately depend on whether regulators, insurers, shipping companies and cargo interests can work together to build a system that reflects the realities of the country’s ports, logistics networks and international trade.
