·Industry losses N160b revenue yearly to racketeers
For the insurance industry to contribute its quota to economic growth, there is a need for law enforcement agencies to join forces with regulators and players to save N160 billion in premium income lost to fake motor insurance racketeers, yearly.
This was the resolution of experts who gathered at the seventh edition of BusinessToday Conference held in Lagos.
Such partnership, they said, would involve the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC) to jointly carry out enforcement of the compulsory insurance on federal roads across the country.
Fake insurance has been major a challenge in the industry with eight million papers issued to unsuspecting motorists yearly. This deprives the industry of the huge premium income every year.
The FRSC data revealed that 12.5 million registered vehicles ply Nigerian roads. But only four million have genuine insurance, translating to 33.2 per cent of the total registered vehicles in the country.
Most of the motorists driving with fake insurance papers get them from racketeers at vehicle licensing offices across the country.
An investigation also revealed that insurance peddlers are positioned at the entrance of licensing offices across states where miscreants peddle fake documents.
The fake insurance papers, it is learned, are being sold for N8,000 to N5, 000 as against the official N15,000 fee.
Speaking on the benefit of a 200 per cent increase in third-party motor insurance, the Chair-man, Nigerian Insurers Asso¬ciation (NIA), Segun Omosehin, said the compen¬sation packages, which genuine policyholders would now enjoy in the event of dam¬age to a third party, has also increased.
