The National Insurance Commission has told Citi Business News it will by the end of 2018, establish a digital system in collaboration with the DVLA to ensure that all vehicles are insured.
This follows an announcement by the National Insurance Commission (NIC) that only 60 percent of cars on Ghana’s roads are insured.
Speaking on the alarming rate of uninsured vehicles, Head of Supervision at the NIC, Seth Eshun, called for cooperation from stakeholders and individual car owners to rid the country’s streets off such vehicles.
“We’ve had a lot of discussions with the DVLA under the auspices of the Vice President and there is some frightening data that we have about 3.5 million cars which have been registered by the DVLA. Road worthy cars are about 1.5 million but cars that are ensured are about one million from our statistics. So give or take, we have about 40 % of cars that are not insured in the country or have fake motor insurance.”
Highlighting the dangers of such cars on the road, Mr. Eshun stated that road users risk getting no financial compensation when an accident occurs.
“If such cars hurt anyone on the road, the victims will not receive any insurance payment. So by working with the DVLA, we will ensure that road worthy licenses are not given out unless car owners have insurance. And this will be something that will really promote the uptake of insurance. We are working towards getting this done by the end of the year.”
Mr. Eshun, who is the Head of Supervision at the NIC was speaking at the 25th anniversary Symposium of Donewell Insurance Company Limited, under the theme; ‘Insurance in Ghana -The different perspectives: The Regulator, The Investor and The Insurer’.
At the same event, Mr. Seth Aklasi, the CEO of Donewell Insurance stated that Donewell Insurance Company Limited has played a major role in the growth of the insurance industry and Ghana’s economy over the past 25 years and will continue to do so in the years to come.
He added that technology is changing business strategies and transactions in all sectors and industries, hence Insurance companies either “EVOLVE OR GO EXTINCT”.
According to Mr. Aklasi, the Insurance industry cannot be immune to this wave of change and therefore it is critical for practitioners and leaders to take note and plan accordingly.
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By: Bobbie Osei/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana