Government has been asked to set up a special fund that will be used to compensate accident victims other than only promoting motor third-party insurance.
According to the Executive Director of Hope for Victims of Traffic Accidents (HOVITA), Samuel Bambanza, the call is particularly timely because road crashes usually increase during the festive season. He says this can be facilitated through a levy on each litre of fuel sold.
He argues that motor third-party insurance alone cannot holistically address compensation of accident victims, explaining that the money paid to the victims is usually very little and accessing it is also a tedious process.
Statistics from the Insurance Regulatory Authority show that out of the country’s 2.5 million insured vehicles, only 500,000 have mandatory motor third-party insurance, translating to approximately Shs200bn in lost revenue to the insurers and Shs70bn in lost stamp duty to the government.
This trend prompted the sector regulatory body in collaboration with the Uganda Revenue Authority, Ministry of Works and Transport, and the Uganda Insurers Association to develop a mobile payment platform to streamline the operation of motor third-party insurance, setting the pace for insurance companies to invest in digital products.
