Justice Peprah Agyei, Western Regional Manager of the National Insurance Commission (NIC), has advised the general public to verify the authenticity of motor insurance for vehicles before they use their services.
“This is important because we, the general public, are the third-parties and we receive compensations under this cover. The policy is there to compensate us against injuries, death and damages to our property. It means we have to pay more attention to this,” he said.
In an interview with the B&FT, he noted that technology and innovation is the only way to eliminate fake motor insurance stickers in the system. “Being innovative is a key fundamental tool and growth strategy; that is why the NIC has designed the Motor Insurance Database, which makes it very easy for the Police Service to identify a valid motor insurance sticker from a fake one,” he said.
He explained that the Motor Insurance Database is the game-changer to stop the disruptive force of fake motor insurance stickers and undercutting or underpricing of insurance premiums.
According to him: “The Commissioner of Insurance, Dr. Justice Yaw Ofori, clearly stated the mandate of the Commission; NIC is a regulatory and supervisory body of the insurance services sector with a broad consumer and prudential regulatory mandate under Section 2(3) of the Insurance Act 2006, (Act 724)”.
He pointed out, “Mr. Ofori brought to the attention of the general public that NIC has commenced implementation of the Motor Insurance Database (MID), effective January 1, 2020 and highlighted the features of the Motor Insurance Database (MID).
He mentioned some of the features as confirmation texts upon the purchase of a valid Motor Insurance Policy: “With this, the insured will receive a text message confirming that the Motor Insurance policy is authentic.
“One can also check the authenticity of a Motor Insurance Policy by using a mobile phone. Members of the general public can verify the authenticity of a Motor Insurance Policy by dialling a USSD code *920*57# and following the instructions,” he added.
Sample of a confirmation text
| Status: | Insured |
| Period: | 01/01/2020 – 31/12/2020 |
| Company: | Jusbel Insurance Co. Ltd. |
| Reg: | GE 145 – 20 |
| Premium: | GH¢ 00,000.00 |
| From: | National Insurance Commission |
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