Insurers charge vehicle owners on authenticity of insurance policies

Insurers, under the aegis of the Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA), have charged vehicle owners to be wary of verifying the authenticity of the motor insurance policy certificates they purchase.

NIA’s Director-General, Mrs Yetunde Ilori, gave the advice in an interview with our correspondent on Monday in Lagos.

Olori said that insurers invested heavily on technology to enable them to easily verify their insurance policy online.

‘With the help of technology and mobile phone, motor insurance policyholders can now verify the genuineness of their policies online, real-time, using a dedicated platform or code such as askniid.org or the USSD code *565*11#.

“Nigerian insurers have invested heavily in acquiring technology to make its operations seamless and accessible to its customers, hence the introduction of www.askniid.org.

“The www.askniid.org is where all insurance companies and agents are expected to upload the details of any motor insurance policy issued for record keeping and authentication.

“Therefore, any motor insurance policy that you buy and cannot be verified on the NIID portal is not authentic. Even if it was bought from an insurance company.

“Policyholders must ensure the authenticity of their insurance certificate so that they can get adequate compensation when claims occur.

“Claims compensation cannot be paid to those with fake motor insurance certificate whose status cannot be ascertained on the NIID platform,” she said.

According to the director-general, following the recent upward review of premium rates for motor insurances by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), effective Jan.1, vehicle owners cannot afford to forfeit the enhanced compensations attached to the new rate.

Ilori explained that the third party insurance premium rate for private vehicles is now N15,000, while the claims limit is N3 million and own goods third party premium is N20,000 with N5 million compensation.

She said premium on staff buses now attract N20,000 premium with N3 million compensation, while commercial trucks and general cartage is N100,000 premium with N5 million compensation.

The director general stated that special types vehicles attracts N20,000 premium with N3 million compensation, while tricycle attract N5,000 with N2 million compensation and motorcycle is N3,000 premium with N1million compensation.

She said: “policyholders whose vehicle insurance details had been uploaded on the NIID can check their motor insurance policy status by visiting the NIID portal.

“They can also send Short Messaging Service (SMS) to the USSD code *565*11# on any mobile phone with or without internet access or log on to website www.askniid.org and follow the laid down instructions.

“Using this platform is very easy, as customers could enter their vehicle number or insurance policy number to confirm its authenticity. Once the particulars are entered, the result will appear immediately.

Ilori noted that the NIID platform, as a tool for checkmating fake compulsory insurance certificates, is used by all stakeholders, including authorised law enforcement agencies to validate insurance certificates presented by the policy holders.

Also, Mr Segun Bankole, Deputy General Manager, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, advised policy holders to make it a culture to always verify the status of their motor insurance policy.

Bankole said this would save the policy holders from embarrassment when accosted on the road by the law enforcement agents.

He stated that verification of the authenticity of a policy certificate also gives the policy holder the peace of mind and assurance that he or she would get compensation when claim occurs.

Bankole urged the insuring public to ensure that they buy genuine insurance policies, as premium payment arrangement can be simplified into quarterly or four times yearly, depending on the policyholder’s agreement with his or her insurer.

He called for collaboration between the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and NAICOM to take insurance awareness as a national issue to educate the public
According to him, if motorists were adequately informed on the importance and benefits of the third party motor insurance, the industry will be improved and contribute significantly to the nation’s growth.

NIA in conjunction with NAICOM in 2010 introduced the NIID toward eliminating fake insurance certificates in the market and serve as an authentic database of the Nigerian insurance industry data.