‘12 million Nigerian motorists use fake insurance papers’- Insurance boss

Insurance Association (NIA) has said that it has discovered that over 12 million Nigerian motorists carry fake insurance papers thereby robbing it of such benefits.

Expectedly investigations carried by stakeholders in the insurance sector, revealed that many motorists prefer patronizing fraudsters for Insurance papers to obtaining valid certificate that would provide Insurance cover and compensation for road users in times of accident.

Motor insurance, according to experts, however confers on motorists and others a lot of gains such as financial peace gained from cover while specific benefits derivable vary, based on types of coverage one obtains.

Some examples are legal protection, insulation from huge expenses and preservation of vehicle value. But the Nigerian Insurance Association (NIA) boss, Mr. Sunday Thomas, who spoke to journalists in Asaba at the weekend, said that the development had not gone down well with operators in the industry who have decided to collaborate with law enforcement agencies to put an end to fake insurance business in Nigeria.

He said that the industry had continued to record increase in the number of genuine insurance policies registered in its Nigerian industry data base, adding that “the vehicles on the Nigerian roads are to be between 16 million and 17 million but what we have registered in our data base is about 4.3 million, it is possible that insurance cover of some has expired and has not been renewed.

Noting that the association was trying to separate the expired policies from the current ones to determine the actual number of vehicles with genuine insurance, Mr. Thomas explained that the industry data base was introduced to curb the proliferation of fake motor insurance papers, provide information on the details of vehicle on the Nigerian roads as well as enhance the verification of certificates in owners possession.

He said from available statistics on the number of motorists that are using fake insurance papers, it was obvious that many motorists are unaware of the position of the law on defaulters, adding that section 68 of the insurance Act 2003 states “ no person shall use or cause any other person to use a motor vehicle on the road, unless a liability which he may thereby incur in respect of the damage to the property of third parties is insured with an insurer registered under its act, the insurance states that the law shall cover the liability of not less than one million and that a person contravenes the provisions of that section of the law commits an offence and will be liable on conviction to a fine of N250,000 or imprisoned for one year”.