By Daphne Uduneje
The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) has renewed its call for deeper integration between the insurance and oil and gas industries, arguing that digital innovation, stronger local content implementation and enhanced underwriting capacity are essential to unlocking greater value from Nigeria’s energy sector and accelerating inclusive economic growth.
The council made the call at the SUPERNEWS Nigeria 10th Anniversary and 2026 Annual Conference in Lagos, where industry leaders examined how collaboration between critical sectors can strengthen economic resilience and improve domestic value retention.
Delivering the keynote on behalf of the President of NCRIB, Mrs. Ekeoma Ezeibe, the Council’s Deputy President, Mrs. Olufunke Adenusi, described the conference theme, “Local Content and Digitization: Building Synergy Between Oil and Gas and Insurance Sectors for Inclusive Growth,” as both timely and strategically aligned with Nigeria’s broader economic transformation agenda.
She noted that the Nigerian insurance industry occupies a pivotal position in supporting the country’s oil and gas value chain, particularly through the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.
According to Adenusi, Sections 49 and 50 of the Act require operators in the oil and gas sector to place all insurable risks through insurance brokers registered in Nigeria—a policy designed to deepen indigenous participation, retain insurance premiums within the domestic economy and strengthen the capacity of local insurers to underwrite increasingly sophisticated energy risks.
She observed that while the industry has made measurable progress in developing local expertise, structural challenges continue to constrain its full potential. These include limited capitalisation, technical capacity gaps and the continued placement of complex risks in offshore insurance markets.
To address these constraints, Adenusi welcomed the Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Agenda (NIIRA 2025) as well as the growing collaboration between the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), describing both initiatives as important milestones in repositioning the insurance industry for greater competitiveness.
She stressed that building a resilient insurance ecosystem capable of supporting Nigeria’s expanding energy industry would require sustained investment in capital, technology and human capacity.
Adenusi also underscored the growing importance of digital transformation in modern insurance practice, saying emerging technologies are redefining risk management and creating new opportunities for collaboration between insurers and operators in the oil and gas industry.
She identified innovations such as real-time risk assessment, parametric insurance products, blockchain-enabled claims administration and data-driven underwriting as critical tools that can improve operational efficiency, enhance transparency and strengthen risk mitigation across the energy value chain.
Reaffirming the commitment of insurance brokers to the industry’s transformation, she said the NCRIB would continue to champion professional excellence, ethical standards and innovation while serving as trusted risk advisers to businesses operating across strategic sectors of the economy.
She added that stronger collaboration between insurance institutions and the oil and gas industry would not only improve local content implementation but also attract investment, generate employment, expand domestic insurance capacity and contribute to sustainable national development.
Adenusi further congratulated SUPERNEWS Nigeria on its 10th anniversary, describing the organisation’s decade-long contribution to business and financial journalism as an important platform for policy dialogue and stakeholder engagement.
She expressed confidence that deliberations at the conference would produce practical recommendations capable of strengthening partnerships between the insurance and energy sectors while advancing Nigeria’s local content aspirations and long-term economic development.