The Nigerian Insurers Association has stepped insurance industry effort to suture the tear in third party motor insurance the source of the leak of motor insurance premiums, and the NIA is already engaging Lagos, Kaduna, Niger, Kogi and Ogun states on the enforcement of third party motor insurance through their licensing offices.
The ongoing discussions with these states the chairman NIA, Mr. Ganiyu Musa said, would ensure that motorists get genuine insurance cover at the point of renewing their vehicle particulars at licensing offices.
Musa, said the industry is confident of a win-win outcome and are bracing up to forge same level of talks with other states to decongest and decimate fraudsters issuing insurance certificates. He explains the extent of current engagements, “we are working closely with the Lagos state vehicle Inspection service on enforcement of third party motor insurance. We are also engaging Niger, Kaduna, Kogi and Ogun states, and remain hopeful that other states will see value in the platform and embrace it. Out of the estimated 13 million vehicles in Nigeria, only about 2,939,767 third party motor policies are in force as at Apr 26, 2021.”
Not letting off steam Musa, who is also the group managing director at Cornerstone Insurance Plc, said the Association has transferred the same momentum to other agencies by partnering the Federal Roads Safety Corps(FRSC) and the police to give them access to the Nigerian Insurance Industry Portal, and verify motor insurance certificates and arrest motorist whose certificates are not in the portal.
On the Nigerian Insurance Industry Database /Nigerian Insurance Industry Portal (NIID/NIIP), Musa said the database was established to reduce soft market practices and eliminate fake insurance policies. Besides, he said the Association has taken a step further by creating the Nigerian Insurance Industry platform “to enable vehicle owners purchase their third-party motor vehicle insurance cover from the comfort of their homes and telephones.” According to him, the platform is very active “and we are hopeful that other states will key into the project before the end of the year.”
Same he said, also applies to the marine module, “the Central Bank of Nigeria has since integrated the NIA marine module into the national trade portal and all insurance certificates required for import and export are generated from the portal. This, no doubt, signals the end of fake marine insurance certificates at the ports.”
