Our Non-Life Technical Team led by Juliet Igonu presented to the traffic officers in Kampala Metropolitan Region what Motor Third Party Insurance (MTP) is all about. “With MTP, life is secured when a crash happens”. She also detailed the Claims Process to secure compensation for the injured passenger or pedestrian including all the required documents. The Team also exhibited the different Motor Third Party Insurance stickers focusing on the key features while pointing out the differences between a Commercial MTP sticker and a Private MTP sticker. They also expounded on the Enhanced Motor Third Party Insurance that seeks to plug the benefit gaps that exist with Motor Third Party Insurance.
In more insights given to the traffic officers during the engagement, it was noted that most motorists who turn their private cars into “Ubers” or “tourist vehicles” don't go back to the insurance companies to switch from Private MTP to Commercial MTP stickers. “Around the Border region most of the motorists buy Kenyan MTP stickers yet they have Ugandan number plates” Juliet Igonu reported to the officers. Referring to UIA’s recent visit to Mbale for the Simbula with Motor Third Party Insurance campaign, it was also observed that in the upcountry areas, many people don't know what Motor Third Party Insurance is about. “As a matter of fact, to some of them, Motor Third Party is just a story”.
Our CEO – Jonan Kisakye said that he was pleased that UIA was directly engaging with the traffic officers. He said that UIA takes its partnerships with the different government agencies very seriously citing that the association is working closely with different ministries and the Parliament of Uganda.
among others. He also clarified that UIA represents the insurers and should not be mislabelled as an insurer. He said that this engagement is aimed at bringing the UIA closer to the Police and particularly the Traffic department that regulates traffic and supports in the implementation of Motor Third Party Insurance.
Jonan also spoke about the social protection aspect of insurance (operating for the good of the public). He gave Microinsurance as an example, noting that it is meant to cater for the low income earners who form the majority of the population and require insurance services commensurate to their level of earning.
He explained that Motor Third Party is also a component of Social Protection by the virtue of the fact that it protects the passenger & pedestrian. Regarding the inadequacies of MTP like low compensation limits and benefits, Jonan reported that the association is working on giving the public an option of Enhanced Motor Third Party, a second layer to MTP with enhanced benefits.
While stressing the importance of Motor Third Party Insurance, Jonan explained it is for the good of the public and also contributes to the government coffers via taxes and yet its uptake remains a challenge. He decried the shortage of data regarding the number of cars and boda bodas on the road. He mentioned that Boda bodas are responsible for the most accidents on the road and yet many are not insured which puts the public in danger, burdens the government hospitals and overwhelms the police.
He pledged to support the traffic police and promised that the association would ensure that more engagements happen to exchange ideas, feedback and agree on implementation. He suggested that UIA can support in the easing of the traffic officers’ checking of genuine stickers by equipping them with relevant reference material and technology.
Jonan promised that feedback from these engagements will be followed up by corrective action and solutions by UIA to support the Traffic Police to do their work in enforcing MTP compliance.
Kampala Metropolitan Traffic Police Commander, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Rogers Nsereko Kavuma expressed his appreciation for the engagement with UIA. “We want people to pay for Motor Third Party. We would like people to compensate others when they injure them on the road and we want to be even more organized,” he said. He noted that the Traffic Police force is open and looks forward to working closely with UIA in addressing their challenges.
The engagement was greatly interactive and saw members of the traffic police convey feedback to UIA regarding Motor Third Party Insurance and the challenges they face in its enforcement. It was reiterated that the two entities ought to work together to address the existing gaps.
In the spirit of close collaboration, the engagement was closed with a group photo moment.
