The insurance industry has launched a renewed offensive against fake motor insurance operators and rate-cutting practices, with the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and the Association of Registered Insurance Agents of Nigeria (ARIAN) declaring zero tolerance for illegal operators undermining the sector.
This formed the crux of discussions at the Insurers Committee meeting and press briefing held on Thursday, May 21, 2026, where stakeholders expressed concern over the growing activities of fake insurance agents, unlicensed operators and rate-cutting practices said to be weakening confidence in compulsory motor insurance.
Chairman of the Communication and Stakeholders’ Management Sub-Committee of the Insurers Committee and Deputy Chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), Mrs. Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said NAICOM and ARIAN had intensified efforts to tackle fake third-party motor insurance and rate undercutting.
She commended ARIAN for taking steps to address the issue and urged the insurance industry to treat the development seriously.
‘NAICOM and ARIAN have taken over the insurance industry fight against rate cutting and fake third party motor insurance,’ she said.
Nwachukwu who is also the Managing Director of Rex Insurance Plc further called on insurance companies to establish offices in underserved areas across the country in order to reduce the spread of fake insurance products.
According to her, the absence of genuine insurance operators in many communities has created room for illegal agents and touts to thrive.
Senior Manager, Corporate Communications National Insurance Commission, Abba Halil Inuwa, disclosed that the Commission had already secured legal victory in a case involving the Nigerian Cooperative Insurance Society (NCIS), which he described as operating illegally.
Inuwa explained that after NAICOM published a warning against the activities of NCIS last year, the organisation took the Commission to court but lost the case.
‘After that publication they took us to court and the case was thrown out in our favour based on merit issues, so the NCIS does not have any case against the Commission,’ he said.
He added that the enactment of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025 had further strengthened NAICOM’s enforcement powers.
Inuwa said the Commission, in collaboration with the Inspector-General of Police, had already carried out raids in Abuja leading to arrests and confiscation of fake insurance materials.
‘The legal department of the Commission and the police are working closely to prosecute those arrested. Very soon both in Lagos and Abuja we are going to do another one,’ he said.
He revealed that the previous enforcement exercise did not achieve much because information leaked to suspects ahead of the operation.
‘This time around it was a huge success because a lot of things were confiscated from the people red-handed,’ he added.
According to him, some Vehicle Inspection Officers (VIOs) were also implicated in the illegal sale of fake motor insurance policies.
He assured that enforcement operations would continue nationwide and stressed that the Commission would not relent until offenders were prosecuted