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Chuks Udo Okonta
Insurance companies generated N6.58 billion Gross Premium Written GPW) from third party and third party fire & theft motor business in 2020, Inspenonline can report.
This is even as stakeholders believed the insurance industry is losing a whopping N160 billion annually to fake motor insurance racketeers in the country.
According to data obtained from the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) insurance operators also recorded gross premium written of N41.39 billion from comprehensive motor business, leading to aggregate of N47.97 billion made from motor business in the year.
Of the 13 million vehicles as stated by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) plying Nigerian roads only 3.4 million vehicles have been registered on the Nigerian Insurance Industry Database (NIID), an indication that a whopping 9.6 vehicle possess fake policies.
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 proper 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.
