Nigeria's insurance industry recorded a significant improvement in real terms as the market recorded total assets of N2.67 trillion and capitalisation of N851 billion in 2023, according to official data that was released by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) early Tuesday.

The sector sustained a progressive trend of positive market performance at the close of 2023 fourth quarter (Q4), posting a growth to close at N1.003 trillion, representing about 27 per cent growth compared to the N790 billion recorded in 2022.

The non-life business accounted for 61.3 per cent of all premiums written during the year while the Life segment contributed 38.7 percent, valued at N388.1 billion.

The market also recorded a retention of about 87.7 per cent for the Life business, just about 54 per cent for Non-Life while the aggregate market average retention stood at 66.7 percent during the same period.

The NAICOM data showed that major growth drivers in the non-life segment of the market were Oil & Gas and Fire Insurances, contributing 27.3 percent and 24.1 per cent respectively.

In a direct reflection to the ongoing regulatory measures regarding claims settlement, the Life business recorded about 95 per cent of net claims to the total recorded claims during the year while the market average stood at about 71.4 per cent of the N536.5 billion gross claims reported at the close of fourth quarter, 2023.

In a direct reflection to the "no-premium no-cover" policy of the Commission, the outstanding premium continued to decline, posting a 1.6 per cent as outstanding of all the premiums generated in the market during the period.