By Bakare Ogunleye
Stakeholders in the nation’s insurance sector have called for the need for modernisation of the ECWAS Brown Card, planning it into a digital protection passport for motorists to drive across West African countries.
The initiative aims to improve road safety, ease regional mobility, and ensure timely cross-border insurance coverage in the ECOWAS sub-region.
The ECOWAS Brown Card, originally to provide motorists with third-party liability insurance while traveling across member states.
In a paper delivered in the first Zonal meeting of the National Bureau of ECOWAS Brown Card Insurance Scheme, in Abuja, with the theme, “50 Years of Sub-Regional Integration: Contribution of the ECOWAS Brown Card Insurance Scheme to the Mechanism of Free Movement of People, Goods and Services within the Sub-Region.” The Chairman of the House Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters, Ahmadu Usman Jaha, represented by David Abel Fuoh, revealed the legislature’s commitment to support frameworks that ensure mobility protection and promote regional integration through insurance.
Speaking also at the meeting, the Commissioner for Insurance, Olusegun Omosehin, commended the leadership of the scheme and called for increased compliance, transparent claims handling, and digital transformation across all national bureaus.
The commissioner added that the Ecowas Brown Card scheme has stood the test of time but must now be made more responsive, agile digitally enabled to meet modern-day mobility and insurance expectations.
The Chairman of the Nigerian National Bureau, Kunle Ahmed, who also doubles as the Chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), reiterated that Nigeria’s central role is in shaping reforms and advancing the scheme’s visibility.
Ahmed said that the Nigerian Bureau remains fully committed to delivering on its mandate to improve cross-border insurance coverage, particularly in its leadership of digital, governance alignment, and stakeholder partnerships.
However, as we celebrate 50 years of the ECOWAS Brown Card, our responsibility is not only to preserve its legacy but to prepare it for the future one driven by integration, innovation, and institutional trust that transcends borders, he said.
According to him, a digital Brown Card could also improve law enforcement efficiency and data sharing among ECOWAS member states.” It’s win-win for government, insurers, and the traveling public,” he noted.
“We would also see a reduction in fraudulent claims and easier compensation across borders.”
The proposal is gaining momentum as regional leaders work to enhance trade and transport integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA).
The digital transformation of the Brown Card could become a cornerstone of a cross-border mobility solution in West Africa.
Also, the Secretary General/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Bureau. Dr. Raphael Abiiba stated that the meeting is a defining opportunity to consolidate achievements and steer the scheme toward a unified future.
According to him, the zonal meeting is a milestone, offering an avenue to look back with gratitude, confront current challenges with clarity, and embrace the future with a shared vision. “Regional protection must not just be promised, it must be felt and trusted by every road user,” he said
