New motor premiums offer cover across West Africa – NIA

Nigerian motorists who have paid the recently adjusted premiums for motor insurance will enjoy the benefit of ECOWAS Brown Card in the event of an accident when travelling within the West African sub-region, the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has said.

For instance, a registered Nigerian vehicle with third-party motor insurance is covered when in and around any of the West African countries, and motorists from other West African countries into Nigeria are also covered in line with the Brown Card scheme.

The Brown Card provides motorists complete guarantee for a prompt, fair and immediate compensation for any accident they may cause outside their habitual residence country.

The cardholder is treated exactly as if the basic insurance policy was underwritten with a company located in the country visited or through which it transits.

Since the government authorities recognise the Brown Card, the motorist is exempted from any other formality relating to the guarantee against the risks of civil liability.

Segun Omosehin, chairman of NIA said the new premium is in line with ECOWAS protocol, saying the sub-regional institutions are working to liberalise trade.

The third-party motor insurance is in tandem with the ECOWAS protocol, as West Africa has become a common market, he said.

Omosehin said the association is in full support of the new premium rates released by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and has indeed taken steps to ensure that members comply and join in the publicity initiatives that will follow shortly.

“The association is embarking on stakeholder engagement as a first layer interface with the critical stakeholders to ensure their buy-in and support,” he said.

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He expressed confidence that Nigerians will support the new rates and this will not only lead to increase in premium income for underwriters, but also increase in claims payment to the clients.

With the new tariff on third party motor insurance effective January 1, 2023, NAICOM is driving to see that motorists have adequate cover to protect citizens and assets that become victims of accidents on Nigerian roads and across the ECOWAS Region.

To verify the genuineness of motor insurance, the NIA advised motorists to run their policies in the Nigerian Insurance Industry Database (NIID).

It said: “Therefore, if your policy document is not captured in NIID, then that policy document you have as a motor third party insurance certificate is fake and worth nothing.

“You can actually verify it yourself from anywhere you are. This has not only brought a check to fake documents, it has now empowered you to make claims on all third party liabilities.

“To verify the document, simply apply this code into your GSM handset, and in seconds, the status of your insurance is displayed on your screen. (SMS: policy number*plate number to 33125). This is compliant with all networks.

“If the resultant message says, ‘not available on NIID database’, then know that what you are parading as insurance is fake. However, if it is there, it tells you immediately the name in which your vehicle is registered, the make and model of the vehicle, the colour of the vehicle, name of the insurance company and date of expiration of the policy.”