Over the years, the insurance business has evolved from the largely paper-based, time consuming and ineffective processes to digital and seamless processes. The outbreak of the Covid-19 virus brought about technological innovations in various sectors including the insurance sector. Nothwithstanding the fact that the insurance penetration rate in Nigeria still rates below 1%, many insurance start-ups have utilised technology in redefining the insurance business by introducing digital health and auto insurance among others. In light of the sector’s embrace of a digitally driven insurance market, the National Insurance  Commission (“NAICOM”) issued the Insurance Web Aggregators Operational Guidelines (the “Guidelines”) which sets out the regulatory framework for the deployment and operation of web aggregator platforms within the Nigerian insurance sector.

Web aggregators have been defined under the guidelines as “companies registered under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) and licensed under the Guidelines, to act as an intermediary between insurance companies and the public” . In essence, web aggregators maintain websites that offer products of various insurance companies thereby providing a variety of choices for customers based on price and features of the insurance product. The customer is then linked to the insurance company when their choice is made.

The Guidelines basically highlight the framework for the licensing, registration and regulation of web aggregators in their relations with their customers and insurance companies as intermediaries . The Guidelines came into force on the 1st of February 2022 but allows a 60-day window for full compliance with its provisions by existing web aggregators and insurance companies. This article highlights key provisions of the Guidelines and the likely impact on the Nigerian insurance industry.