THE past few weeks our subject of discussion centred on claims procedures in motor vehicles with numerous responses from readers as expected.
In light of this today we will publish some selected reactions from readers.
The first feedback came from Peter Mwansa who sent a complimentary message “
Webster, “Good afternoon, thanks for the good Insurance article on Claim Procedure. Little did I know Times of Zambia had such good articles?
“From now onwards I will be an ardent reader of this Newspaper on Wednesdays. Good day,
“Peter Mwansa”.
Thanks to Peter Mwansa for such feedback. This column has been running for about five years now, enjoy it every Wednesday.
The second response came from someone i will call Mr. X due to the sensitivity of his position.
“Good afternoon Brother Webster, I must confess in the first place that a am an ardent follower of your Weekly Insurance Talk column in the Times of Zambia.
“Firstly, let me start by introducing myself.
“[I] Am an employee of a new Insurance company on the Zambian Market, precisely, a year and half. ‘
“[I] Am very much interested in reading the Times, possibly the only time in a week, your articles which are very, very educative I should say.
“[I] Am in the accounting field as indicated from email signature.
However, my main writing is to find out from you if it’s possible to be sending me soft copies even in pdf.”
It is gratifying to hear such feedback from readers. I assure Mr. X
that going forward I will include you on the circulation list every Wednesday.
The third response came from Ruth and she wrote,
“Thank you very much for your educative articles. Please help us the laymen as insurers are taking advantage of us.
“They make us wait forever before paying us our claims simply because we are ignorant, please continue educating us.”
Well, it is said that knowledge is power. I don’t subscribe to the notion of insurers taking advantage of the uninformed people, there must be fairness.
If we have to continue growing as an industry then consumer education must be enhanced.
People must appreciate the role of insurance and in so doing increase its uptake.
This platform will therefore endeavour to share insurance knowledge to the benefit of the public.
The fourth was a tough one because it wasn’t a one off, we had to exchange some bit of emails before our minds could meet. It came from Collins Chibwe and he wrote,
“Good afternoon, I am an ardent reader of your articles in the Times of Zambia and have just read the article referenced ‘Third Party Claims II’.
I wish to make clarifications with you on the following; “Firstly, how do you reconcile your assertions that the third party has to seek consent to claim from the insured party at fault in the context of Section 90 and 91 of the Road Traffic Act No. 11 of 2002?”
Take note that there is an assumption here that the third party has relevant documentation such as Police report, admission of guilty report, drivers licence for  a party at fault, copy of certificate of insurance etc.
“Secondly, ‘why has the limit of indemnity on motor insurance remained at about K30, 000 despite the fee unit having been revised upwards as per Fees and Fines Act?
“I want to believe limits of indemnity in insurance policies for third party are based on Section 88 of the Road Traffic Act and insurers are well aware of this?”
My initial response to Collins is reproduced:
“The best way to answer this question is to ask another question “are there situations where an insurer will refuse to pay a claim despite their being a certificate of insurance?”
Another question is “what if the documents where fraudulently obtained?”
Secondly, insurance being a contract has terms and conditions, if these are abrogated an insurer can escape liability.
In your question, an insurer will not deny liability and will not proceed without documentation, grounds which the courts will most likely side with the insurer.
I hope you get the point. On the second question I asked Collins how much the current units translate to.
Well this feedback was still not very convincing to Collins. Next week I will publish the rest of my communication with him that settled the issues which might help other readers too.
Comments: webster@picz.co.zm or webster_tj@hotmail.com or on face book search for Insurance Talk-Zambia page or call/text 0977 857 055
(The Author is a Chartered Insurer with twelve years industry experience)