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Chuks Udo Okonta
Negligence by some Insurers to inspect what they insure has robbed them billions of naira in claims.
Oftentimes, the negligence stems from trust, as the insurers trust their brokers and policyholders, failing to conduct due diligence on what they insure.
A recent incidence of flood suffered by a policyholder revealed how some Insurers undermined the principle of inspection before granting a cover.
According to a policyholder, who reported his experience to Inspenonline, a member of his family insured a project against flood with the help of a broker.
He narrated how they waited for the broker and the insurer to visit the project before paying the premium, but they were asked to pay, given a promise to visit the project after the payment.
He said the promise ran into days and months, as they awaited the parties, who never showed up and suddenly, the flood came and ravaged the project.
Continuing he said the flood incident was reported to the broker and the broker was also invited for verification, but the broker only demanded that they should do a video of the lost and tender all necessary documents for the claim process.
The failure to carry out the inspection at the time of granting the cover and at the time of risk, according to the policyholder, casted doubts on them, thinking the claim would not be honoured.
As demanded by the broker, he said the video and all necessary documents were tendered and after some delays, the claim was paid.
Another policyholder also told this medium how he had insured his vehicle with some Insurers who only asked for details, such as his name, vehicle number and particulars of the vehicle registration.
According to him, they never inspected the vehicle or asked for the pictures non video while the cover was granted.
Experts who reacted to the development said inspection is a key principle in insurance and should not be compromised by any insurer who is in business to succeed.
According to them, most of the unpaid claims cases between insurance companies and policyholders stemmed from failure of insurance practitioners to conduct due diligence about what they cover.
They implored insurance practitioners to shun the quest for premium and ensure that the premiums they collected are justified, having met all the necessary insurance conditions.
