The National Insurance Commission of Nigeria tripled the minimum capital requirement for insurers to help them mitigate risk, Bloomberg News reported July 26.

The deadline for insurers to meet the new requirements is Jan. 1, 2019, although a spokesman for the regulator said insurers seeking "limited deals" or those not interested in taking "all the risks in their class of business" need not raise capital.

Insurers taking on annuity and group life must now have capital of 6 billion Nigerian naira, up from 2 billion naira previously, while nonlife operators underwriting all risks must increase their capital to 9 billion naira from 3 billion naira.

Insurers interested in both life and nonlife business, including oil and gas transactions, must now have a minimum capital of 15 billion naira, compared to 5 billion naira previously, the spokesman said.

As of July 26, US$1 was equivalent to 361.10 Nigerian naira.