The Insurance Consumers Association of Nigeria has called on the National Insurance Commission to reverse its directive on the increase of third Party Motor Insurance Premium in Nigeria.
This was contained in a letter signed by the association’s National Coordinator, Chief Yemi Soladoye, on Sunday in Ibadan, according to The Guardian.
Punch Metro had in December 2022 reported that NAICOM issued a policy directive on the increase of third party motor insurance premium by a 200% margin.
INSCAN has demanded the reversal of the directive, explaining that it amounted to deliberate breach of the fundamental Principle of Utmost Good Faith and other decent regulatory principles guiding Insurance practice.
The letter read in part, “We hereby write with respect to your Circular No.: NAICOM /DPR/CIR.46/2022 dated Dec. 22, 2022, increasing the third party motor insurance premium in Nigeria by 200-400 per cent for different categories of motor vehicles.
“And by implication, giving only one week notice to the insuring public of Nigeria to comply.
“We demand the reversal of the directive as it amounts to deliberate breach of the Fundamental Principle of Utmost Good Faith and other decent regulatory principles that guide insurance practice.
“Though, you threatened to sanction your Insurance Operators that fail to comply with your directive come Jan. 1, yet, the truth is that operators and NAICOM will benefit from the windfall accrued from the directive.
“The insurance consumers are, in the real sense of it, the ones being sanctioned.
“How much has your commission paid out to victims and customers of Proscribed Insurance Companies over the past 20 years as required under Sec. 78 of the Insurance Act 2003 to justify astronomical increase in Premium amount?
“Where is the report of an ad hoc committee required to be set up under Sec. 52 of the Insurance Act 2003, stating the imperative of increasing Insurance Premium by a whooping 200 per cent?
“We also know that the referred Sec. 52 of that Insurance Law does not confer arbitrary powers on you because Insurance is a business affected by Public Policy and otherwise it becomes legalised robbery.
“You are definitely aware of the fact that even at the current N5,000 MTP Premium, many Nigerians still patronise the fake underwriters.
“And this is not because these Nigerians cannot afford the N5,000 but because they don’t see any benefit be it under your genuine or the fake cover.
“To what extent have the interests of the Policyholders of the Insurance Underwriters, whose licences you revoked in the past one year, been protected?
“How much have you paid to the various Fire Brigades in Nigeria as Fire Service Maintenance Fund as prescribed under Sec. 65 of the Insurance Act 2003?
“But still, you are quick to increase the Premium burden on the largely dissatisfied Insurance Customers in Nigeria.”
The association warned, however, that failure to reverse the obnoxious directive would put NAICOM on record as the regulator with the highest level of impunity and insensitivity in Nigeria.
