Insuring the Nation: Europeans and the Emergence of Modern Insurance Business in Colonial Nigeria

Abstract

Insurance as one of the pillars of any economy has been in existence from time immemorial. However, with time, an internationally acceptable form of practising and underwriting insurable risk were developed first by the Europeans who in turn introduced it to other continents of the world. Thus, this paper discusses the emergence of modern insurance business in Nigeria between 1902 and 1959. The paper not only explained the basic concepts of modern insurance, but also posits that both the colonial government in Nigeria and the colonial office in London aided the emergence of foreign insurance companies that dominated the Nigerian insurance market during the period under consideration.