Institute Charges Motorcycle Operators On Insurance

The Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) has said that it was a criminal offence for motorcycle (Okada) and tricycle operators to ply the roads without minimum third party insurance.

 The President of the institute, Dr Wole Adetimehin, said in Lagos that the road traffic act ensured that road users ought to care for one another by insisting on a minimum insurance cover.

 According to him, insurance covers drivers’ liabilities to its passengers and other road users for injuries or damage that may result from operating the okada or tricycle.

 “By the road traffic act, any mobile vehicle or means of transportation by law is not allowed to ply the road except it carries the minimum third party insurance cover.

 “The law expects that every person owes the other person a duty of care.

 “And if by you operating a tricycle or a motorcycle, you are expected by law to carry a third party cover that will cover your liabilities to third parties for injuries or damages that may result from you operating a motorcycle or a tricycle.

 “So, such liabilities might be resulting from accident leading to death, injuries or damage to the other person’s vehicle or properties while you are operating the motor bike or motorcycle.

 “It would be a criminal act and an offence for anybody to ply the road or operate a motorcycle or tricycle without buying third party cover or any form of insurance.

 “But when you know the cost of the motor bike or tricycle to you, maybe you borrowed money, the person that has loaned you money would expect you to have an insurance backup and third party will not be acceptable in the event that the motorcycle is stolen or crushed and you might have to replace it.

 “Or be disable or have difficulty in repaying the loan, it will be a condition of the loan or funding that you must buy a comprehensive insurance cover.’’

Adetimehin said that ignorance of the provisions of the law with regards to the requirements for operating such modes of transport was not recognised by the law.

 According to him, the issues and challenges are in the area of enforcing the already existing laws.

“Again ignorance is no excuse in law and this is where we have issues and challenges in our peculiar environment.

 “We have all the rules, regulations and laws but people shy away from complying with these laws.

“And our enforcement, again, issues and challenges, rather than going for an outright enforcement, bringing people to book, they capitalise on it to extort and take undue advantage of such offences to their own selfish advantage.’’

Adetimehin said something ought to be done and urgently to encourage the use of insurance to minimise losses from accidents and the unforeseen.