Insurers push housing policy reform to protect investments

Insurance operators have called on the federal government to make insurance a central component of Nigeria’s housing policy, warning that the country’s drive to bridge its housing deficit and attract investment into the real estate sector will remain vulnerable unless homes and critical infrastructure are adequately protected against risks.

The experts argued that while governments at all levels have intensified efforts to close Nigeria’s estimated housing deficit through increased construction, inadequate insurance coverage continues to expose developers, homeowners and investors to huge financial losses arising from building collapses, fires and other disasters.

Speaking recently at the 20th Africa International Housing Show (AIHS) 2026, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Heirs General Insurance, Mr. Wole Fayemi, said Nigeria’s housing policy should move beyond simply increasing the number of houses to ensuring that lives, investments and communities are adequately protected.

According to him, recurring building collapses and other disasters have exposed serious gaps in the country’s housing development framework, making insurance an indispensable part of sustainable housing delivery.

“Our housing strategy must evolve beyond increasing the supply of homes to protecting the lives, investments and communities those assets represent,” Fayemi said.

He noted that a housing policy focused solely on construction targets would fall short if completed buildings remained exposed to avoidable risks capable of wiping out years of investment.

Fayemi lamented that recurring building collapses have led to avoidable deaths, destruction of properties worth billions of naira and declining public confidence in Nigeria’s built environment.

Citing the provisions of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025, he said developers and occupiers have a legal responsibility to insure buildings, stressing that compliance would not only protect investments but also reduce systemic risks and shield families and businesses from devastating financial losses.

“Developers and occupiers have a responsibility to insure buildings. Compliance will safeguard investments, reduce systemic risks and protect families and businesses from catastrophic losses,” he stated.

Industry stakeholders said Fayemi’s position aligns with the insurance sector’s long-standing campaign for stricter enforcement of compulsory insurance laws, particularly those relating to buildings and construction projects.

Former Managing Director of FSL Insurance Brokers Limited, Alfred Daudu, said Nigeria already has adequate legal provisions mandating compulsory insurance for certain categories of buildings, but weak enforcement has continued to undermine compliance.

According to him, every building under construction above two floors, as well as every public building, is required by law to be insured, yet compliance remains disappointingly low.

Daudu warned that the failure to enforce existing laws has left property owners, developers and investors exposed to avoidable financial losses whenever disasters occur.

Also speaking during Development Insurance Week, former President and Chairman of Council of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Mrs. Yetunde Ilori, described insurance as an indispensable pillar of sustainable housing development.

She said mortgage institutions, developers and homebuyers all stand to benefit when housing projects are adequately insured, noting that comprehensive insurance cover boosts investor confidence, safeguards assets and promotes long-term stability in the real estate sector.

The renewed call comes as the insurance industry seeks to leverage the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025 to deepen compliance with compulsory insurance and strengthen risk management across Nigeria’s built environment.

Industry operators believe that effective enforcement of compulsory building insurance would not only protect lives and investments but also support government efforts to create a more resilient, sustainable and investor-friendly housing sector.