Corporate Governance and Financial Performance of Insurance Companies in Nigeria

This study examines the relationship between corporate governance practices and financial performance among selected insurance companies in Nigeria. Effective corporate governance, encompassing board composition, transparency, audit quality, and executive accountability, is considered a foundational determinant of firm performance in financial sector institutions. In the Nigerian insurance industry, where recapitalization requirements and NAICOM oversight have intensified scrutiny of corporate governance standards, empirical investigation of the governance-performance link is highly relevant. This research employs a secondary data design using five years of financial data (2019 to 2023) from ten insurance companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group. Corporate governance proxies include board size, board independence ratio, frequency of audit committee meetings, and CEO duality status. Financial performance is measured using return on equity (ROE), return on assets (ROA), and net profit margin. Panel data regression with fixed effects is applied to control for firm-level heterogeneity. Preliminary analysis anticipates that board independence is positively associated with financial performance while CEO duality is negatively associated. The study contributes empirical evidence to the governance-performance discourse in Nigeria's financial services sector and makes recommendations for NAICOM's corporate governance guidelines. Keywords: Corporate Governance, Financial Performance, Insurance Companies, Board Composition, Nigerian Insurance Market.