Players in the insurance industry have been accused of not honouring their obligations to clients, something which is affecting insurance uptake in the country.
Speaking in an interaction during the Insurance Week, which kicked off on Monday, March 6 in Kampala, several people, including boda boda riders, said when they are involved in accidents, the insurance companies do not come to their rescue under the third party insurance.
Kampala Boda Boda security coordinator Hoss Kakooza said while most of their members get involved in accidents, they are not compensated by an insurance company.
This, according to him, leads to either the public ignoring the insurance or taking policies without fully understanding what they mean. Kakooza accused them of being complicated and using a language that the ordinary person cannot understand.
IRA Chief Executive Officer Ibrahim Kaddunabbi Lubega admitted that lack of information is the main hindrance to the growth of the industry, the reason they have started public sensitization campaigns throughout the country.
Hajj Lubega said most motorists know and care about the Motor Third Party policy because it is compulsory. He, however, said that many cyclists do not know that the ordinary Third Party policy caters to the passenger and not the rider. He advised them to go for other insurance policies including advanced third-party or comprehensive products, among others.
The Insurance Week events at the Railways Grounds have attracted all the insurance companies in Uganda and other sectors providing related services like the Deposit Protection Fund, the Insurance Training Institute, and Blood Transfusion Services.
The Chief Executive of Prudential Insurance Uganda, Tetteh Ayitevie urged Ugandans to take insurance not as a matter of the law but as a driver of the nation’s economic development.
The industry’s growth in terms of premiums underwritten has steadily grown over the years, and crossed the one trillion-shilling mark in the third quarter of 2022/23, compared to 912 billion collected in the same period a year before.
Similarly, gross claims paid amounted to 476.52 billion during the period, compared to 363.15 billion which was paid in quarter three of 2021. Meanwhile, gross claims paid amounted to Shs476.52 billion during the period, accounting for 44.1% of the industry’s total premium compared to Shs363.15 billion which was paid in quarter three of 2021.