diff --git a/vunit/sim_if/nvc.py b/vunit/sim_if/nvc.py
index 7f7168a53..3d11721f4 100644
--- a/vunit/sim_if/nvc.py
+++ b/vunit/sim_if/nvc.py
@@ -78,11 +78,14 @@ def __init__(  # pylint: disable=too-many-arguments
         if gui and (not self.find_executable("gtkwave")):
             raise RuntimeError("Cannot find the gtkwave executable in the PATH environment variable. GUI not possible")
 
+        (major, minor) = self.determine_version(prefix)
+        if not (major >= 1 and minor >= 9):
+            raise RuntimeError(f"Minimum supported NVC version is 1.9 (have {major}.{minor})")
+
         self._gui = gui
         self._gtkwave_args = gtkwave_args
         self._vhdl_standard = None
         self._coverage_test_dirs = set()
-        self._supports_jit = self.determine_version(prefix) >= 1.9
 
         if self.use_color:
             environ["NVC_COLORS"] = "always"
@@ -105,12 +108,12 @@ def determine_version(cls, prefix):
         """
         Determine the NVC version
         """
-        return float(
-            re.match(
-                r"nvc ([0-9]*\.[0-9]*).*\(.*\)",
-                cls._get_version_output(prefix),
-            ).group(1)
-        )
+        raw = cls._get_version_output(prefix)
+        m = re.match(r"nvc ([0-9]+)\.([0-9]+).*", raw)
+        if not m:
+            raise RuntimeError("Cannot determine NVC version: " + raw)
+
+        return (int(m.group(1)), int(m.group(2)))
 
     @classmethod
     def supports_vhpi(cls):
@@ -261,8 +264,7 @@ def simulate(self, output_path, test_suite_name, config, elaborate_only):
 
         if not elaborate_only:
             cmd += ["--no-save"]
-            if self._supports_jit:
-                cmd += ["--jit"]
+            cmd += ["--jit"]
             cmd += ["-r"]
             cmd += config.sim_options.get("nvc.sim_flags", [])
             cmd += [f"--exit-severity={config.vhdl_assert_stop_level}"]