Dr. Pius Apere, an Actuarial Scientist and Chartered Insurer, who is also Chairman/CEO, Achor Actuarial Services Limited, has warned that the directive by the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, that all life insurance companies must have, at least, one qualified actuary will exacerbate the shortage of actuaries in the country.
A recent circular from NAICOM on annuity underwriting effective 1st February 2025, directed life insurers to have at least one qualified actuary responsible for Assets-Liability Matching (ALM) analysis and implementation, using NAS Standards of Actuarial Practice (NSAP) on Annuities as guide for pricing, valuation and ALM reports of annuity portfolios.
NAICOM defines a qualified actuary as a Fellow of NAS, but an Associate of NAS may take up the role of an in-house Qualified Actuary only for the purpose of ALM analysis.
Commenting on this development Apere said: “The shortage of actuaries in Nigeria will be exacerbated further, with only nine qualified actuaries registered in NAS out of it’s over 71 memberships, when NAICOM’s circular is implemented for the following reasons: The circular implies that the qualified actuaries from foreign countries (e.g. South Africa, Kenya etc.) who had been working for Nigeria financial sector (e.g. during the recent implementation of IFRS 17) will need to register with NAS before they can practice in Nigeria; it is obvious that the foreign actuaries are working for actuarial consultancy firms abroad and they were only seconded to work for the Nigerian insurance companies on behalf of their foreign firms.
“These foreign actuaries may not be readily available for the Nigeria market any longer since NAS will only register actuaries and not the consultancy firms; some NAS’ actuaries have already retired or near retirement; NAS’ actuaries are already engaged with companies or actuarial consultants in Nigeria, So, how many of them will accept to leave their current employment to join the insurance companies.”
