BOARD CHARACTERISTICS AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF LISTED INSURANCE COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

This study, board characteristics and financial performance of listed insurance companies in Nigeria specifically examined the effect of board characteristics proxied by board Independence, board size, and board gender diversity on financial performance of listed insurance companies in Nigeria using Return on Equity (ROE) as proxy of financial performance. Using ex-post factor research design, data was collected from annual reports of eleven (11) sampled listed insurance companies in Nigeria form year 2021 to 2025 and analysed using regression analysis. The result of the analysis shows that board size with a coefficient of -0.4488, t-value of -2.83 and p<0.05 and gender diversity with a coefficient of 0.2739, t-value of 3.45 and a p < 0.05 has effect on ROE while board independence with a coefficient of −0.2945, t-value −0.99 and a p-value of 0.327 which is greater than 0.05, indicating a negative and statistically insignificant effect on ROE of the sampled companies. The study therefore recommends that regulatory authorities provide guidance and encourage listed companies to sporadically assess the effectiveness of the board, ensure restructuring of oversized boards where necessary rather than concentrating on increasing board size and make it a policy for the inclusion of a good number of female directors among corporate boards.