Matthew Otoijagha
The Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA) has disclosed that 5.8 million out of the 11.7 million registered vehicles plying Nigerian roads have fake insurance, while only 5.9 million Nigerian vehicles have genuine insurance certificates.
The NIA said 5.9 million vehicles with genuine insurance, were those that purchased their insurance policies from licensed insurance companies and are eligible to claims in the event of eventualities.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its latest report on road transport had put the number of registered vehicles plying Nigerian roads at 11.7 million.
The NIID is the central database for all insured vehicles. It also serves as a tool to ensure that only insured vehicles are driven on Nigerian roads and helps to checkmate the activities of fake insurance operators.
The premium generated by various policies underwritten by the industry showed that the contribution by motor insurance has been fluctuating. For instance, NIA figures showed that in 2010, overall premium from motor insurance for the industry stood at N42 billion in 2011, rose to N45 billion in 2012 and was N45 billion in 2013 and declined further toN43billion in 2014, N40 billion in 2015 and N40 billion in 2016.
The Immediate past Chairman of NIA, Mr. Eddie Efekoha, in a chat, confirmed that less than six million vehicles currently have genuine insurance certificates. He said the association was working towards ensuring that in no distant time, loopholes through which insurance companies lose premiums are blocked.
Efekoha said efforts were being made by the association to extend the NIID to marine insurance to curb the activities of fake marine insurance certificate sellers as well.
He said motor insurance policy alone was capable of growing the insurance sector’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the economy, if the right premiums are charged and it goes to genuine operators’ coffer.
He said the volume of businesses that were underwritten by the industry grew from N315.96 billion in 2016, to N363 billion in 2017. This represented an increase of 15 per cent, just as he anticipated that given the recent collaboration between operators and the industry regulator in various initiatives to deepen insurance penetration, there would be increase in both volume of business to be underwritten and premium generated this year.
He said out of the above figure, motor insurance was one of the policies that made significant contribution to the total premium generated by the industry. Meanwhile given this debut made by the industry in the use of NIID to curb activities of fake motor insurance certificate sellers, the industry has been urged to replicate same in marine insurance to curb the menace of fake marine insurance sellers.
The Executive Director, Leadway Insurance, Mr. Adetola Adegbayi, said this would bring about reduction in fake marine insurance certificates. Adebgayi observed that marine insurance class of business in Nigeria had suffered serious neglect and malpractices.