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Chuks Udo Okonta
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has implored underwriters policyholders and the general public to report insurance frauds so as to stem the menace.
The Head, Economic Governance, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Enugu Command, Effiong Ekerendu said this on a television programme monitored by Inspenonline, adding that Nigeria’s hardly report insurance frauds which makes it difficult for the commission to prosecute perpetuators.
According to him, any practice that negates stipulated insurance law is an offence and should not be tolerated.
He noted that the law has stipulated obligations of insurance operators to policyholders and that when they contravened the law to cheat policyholders, it becomes a fraud and crime against the state.
He also submitted that it is a fraud for policyholders to enrich themselves with insurance claims, stressing that most policyholders connived with their vehicle engineers to quote unscrupulous claims, stating that such act amounts to fraud.
Chairman, Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) Ganiyu Musa, said insurance operators have hitherto, not been engaging the EFCC on a systematic bases, but do report to the Police.
He stated that the operators would gladly work with the EFCC on issues related to fraud.
Insurance industry is believed to be losing a whopping N160 billion annually to fake motor insurance racketeers in the country.
The president, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), Barrister Rotimi Edu, who expressed worry on the loss of revenue in the sector, said the expected annual premium income of insurance industry is being crippled by losing a whopping N160 billion annually to fake motor insurance racketeers in the country.
Edu, who stated this at the February 2022 Edition of the NCRIB Members’ Evening sponsored by African Alliance Insurance Plc, in Lagos, noted that, it is disheartening to note that an industry which had been contributing less than one per cent to the gross domestic product, in spite of its huge potentials, loses such whopping amount of money to fake vendors who contribute nothing to the growth of the nation.
“It was recently reported that Nigeria Insurance Industry loses over N160 billion yearly to fake motor insurance racketeer. Some of these fake racketeers have their offices in some local government secretariats across the nation, carrying out their unethical acts unabated.
“Aside from loss of revenue and premium that should accrue to the industry, these criminals create for us a bad image. Most of the unattended claims in Motor Insurance are victims of fake certificates,” he pointed out.
He stressed that, it is saddened to note that most motorists go about their daily businesses with certificate of moribund and deformed insurance companies, just because there is no proper7 enforcement, adding that, some of these insurance policies, flying around local government premises across the country, are just putting money into people’s pocket.
“I am certainly aware that the Nigerian Insurers Association(NIA) deployed technology to curb proliferation of fake certificates. But I am of the opinion that enforcement is still at low ebb. May I use this medium to appeal to Government to wade into the situation and curb the perpetrators,” he pleaded.
While equally pleading to Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) to see this as a clarion call, he believes the agency can as well increase its enforcement strategies to include Insurance Certificate in such a way that any motorist without genuine motor insurance certificate should be made to face sanctions as stipulated in the law.
Our economy continues to drag because we are not paying attention to the issue of insurance, he stressed.
