The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) and the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen data protection and privacy in the insurance sector. 

The MoU was signed at the weekend in Abuja by Dr Vincent Olatunji, the National Commissioner of the NDPC on behalf of the NDPC and Mr Olusegun Omosehin, the Commissioner for Insurance and Chief Executive Officer of NAICOM on behalf of NAICOM to formalise the working relationship between NDPC and NAICOM.

NDPC has been working with NAICOM to deepen data protection and privacy into the sector. 

To this end, Dr Olatunji had addressed the management of NAICOM as well as Chief Executive Officers of insurance companies in previous meetings. 

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In addition, the NDPC recently completed the training of NAICOM staff on data protection and privacy.

Giving a background to the signing, Dr Olatunji said, “On the 7th of August, we were here to pay a courtesy visit to NAICOM, and introduce what the ecosystem (data protection and privacy) is all about. A lot of the things we agreed to work on have been implemented already, including the training of NAICOM staff. The MoU we are signing today is just a formality as we have already started its implementation”.

Speaking further, Dr Olatunji said, “immediately after this signing, we will have an Implementation Committee to make it work as projected.” He noted that the MoU was a “milestone in the NDPC’s mandate to deepen data privacy in Nigeria across all sectors”.

According to the MoU, “the parties hereto may actively engage in assessments and initiatives related to Data compliance and Privacy for the Insurance sector. The collaboration aims to thoroughly examine and implement measures that ensure compliance with relevant regulatory instruments governing data protection as applicable to the insurance sector. By working together, NDPC and NAICOM seek to strengthen Data compliance practices and uphold Privacy standards within the Insurance sector, fostering a secure and legally compliant environment for handling Personally Identifiable Information.”