Universal Insurance shores up MCR statutory deposit, pays N1.165bn to CBN

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Chuks Udo Okonta

Universal Insurance Plc has strengthened its recapitalisation drive with the payment of an additional N1.165 billion statutory deposit to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in line with the Minimum Capital Requirement (MCR) Guidelines issued by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the company, Dr. Japhet Duru, disclosed that the insurer has now fully deposited a total of N1.5 billion as statutory deposit with the CBN, thereby meeting one of the critical requirements of the ongoing industry recapitalisation exercise.

According to him, the latest payment of N1.165 billion was made in addition to the N335 million earlier paid by the company, following the approval obtained at its Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on February 4, 2026.

“I am delighted to inform you that we obtained all mandatory consents from our shareholders at the EGM to raise N15 billion for the purpose of recapitalisation,” Dr. Duru said.

He expressed confidence that Universal Insurance Plc would successfully meet the regulatory deadline, noting that the company is well positioned to feature on NAICOM’s list of compliant insurers expected to be released by July 31, 2026.

“We are confident that Universal Insurance Plc will be on the roll call when NAICOM releases the list of compliant companies,” he added.

NIIRA 2025, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, on July 31, 2025, introduced a new capital framework for insurance and reinsurance operators as part of sweeping reforms aimed at strengthening the Nigerian insurance industry. The Act gave existing operators a 12-month window from its commencement date to meet the new MCR thresholds or face regulatory sanctions, including licence cancellation, merger directives or liquidation.

Under the new regime, life insurance companies are required to maintain a minimum capital base of N10 billion, non-life insurers N15 billion, while reinsurance companies must have at least N35 billion. These new thresholds represent a significant increase over previous statutory requirements and are complemented by the introduction of a Risk-Based Capital (RBC) framework designed to align capital adequacy with the risk profile of each operator.

The recapitalisation deadline of July 30, 2026 remains sacrosanct, with NAICOM repeatedly affirming that the timeline will not be extended and that verification of compliance will be continuous.

Dr. Duru also reaffirmed Universal Insurance’s commitment to prompt settlement of genuine claims and the delivery of improved customer service, as the company continues to position itself for sustainable growth in the post-recapitalisation era.