Title:
IMPACT OF FINANCIAL SECTOR REFORMS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF INSURANCE COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

Authors:
Zainab Dabo and Salisu, Zubairu

Abstract:
The Nigerian financial system has been going through series of reforms to meet the global development all over the world. The insurance companies are not left behind to this ongoing dynamic change. The reform introduced in the insurance industry is to stimulate the industry’s growth and stability. This study examines the Nigerian financial sector reforms and its impact on the insurance companies. The study is descriptive in nature and used secondary data contained in the annual reports and accounts of the quoted insurance companies for the years 2008 to 2014. Regression and correlation analysis was employed in analyzing collected data. The findings from the study revealed that financial sector reforms has impacted significantly on the performance of quoted insurance companies in Nigeria with 0.530 and 0.396 correlation on the share capital and reserves respectively. Despite the fact that, the significant effects of the global financial crisis on the operating results of companies during the 2008 and 2009, the study concluded that reforms has impacted significantly on the performance of quoted insurance companies in Nigeria and recommended that insurance companies should be more aggressive towards securing bigger and better insurance contracts so that the increased share capital base could be efficiently and effectively utilized, also, the Nigerian government should always consider the risks, uncertainties, and opportunities surrounding the insurance industry and employ scientific procedure in arriving at a particular reform policy.