Find out if your insurance certificate is genuine before it’s too late

Q. I am in trouble; please help me. The insurer whose name appears on my car sticker and certificate recently disowned the insurance of my 3.3 van, used to ferry goods, after a third party approached them for reparation of damages to his car following an accident that involved the two vehicles.

My insurance arrangements had been handled by my crew. I am at a loss whether or not I was conned.

What is your advice?

— Carey N. Kamau, Thika

Too bad, Carey. Because of apparent casualness in arranging insurance, you displayed a fake motor insurance certificate on your vehicle.

Apart from deceiving traffic police that the vehicle carries valid insurance to cover third parties against bodily injuries and other losses, as required by law, fake insurance certificates simply mean that there is no insurance cover.

This leaves the vehicle owner liable to third parties to the extent of one’s personal fortune. Moreover, it is an offence punishable by a fine and imprisonment, or both.

It goes without saying that motor vehicle owners must be more careful about the source of their certificates and the people they entrust to purchase them on their behalf.

To ensure that you have valid motor insurance, you should buy cover directly from an insurance company or from an insurance broker or agent who is authorised to sell certificates on behalf of insurance companies.

How do you tell when an insurance certificate is not valid?

First, note that an insurance certificate is valid for the period that is indicated on it. If the period expires or is extended irregularly, then such a certificate is invalid.

Second, wrong use of the certificate will make it invalid, for example, using a private car certificate on a commercial vehicle invalidates it.

Third, beware of certificates that are sold by fraudsters, even if they are genuine, because they might not be backed by insurance contracts.

Special gadget

It may not always be easy to differentiate fake certificates from genuine ones without a special gadget. Some of the invalid certificates may be genuine but have been stolen from insurance companies.

It pays to confirm the cover with the insurance company whose name is printed at the bottom of the certificate and ask for a policy document as proof of existence of an insurance contract.

In special cases, the Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI), which is the legal agent for printing and distributing motor insurance certificates, can confirm whether the certificate you have was actually distributed to a particular insurance company.

Most important, in the event that a fake certificate is spotted, please note the details and report to the police, the insurance company, or AKI.

Every now and then, AKI issues public notices in the press regarding fake motor insurance certificates, urging the public to help in getting rid of this fraud.

Indeed, all those concerned should beware of the consequences of using fake motor insurance certificates.

To vehicle owners (who could well be unsuspecting victims of a racket), one could be sued by third parties in the event of an accident and, secondly, you could risk prosecution for breaking the law.

Drivers can also be prosecuted for contravening the law and be fined, imprisoned, or both.

Passengers and third party victims of accidents involving the motor vehicle will not be able to get compensation from an insurance company.

Even where they sue the vehicle owner, he/she may not be financially capable of compensating them.

So it is in the interests of all that we eradicate this menace.

— ISAAC NG’ARU

For questions on any aspect of insurance write to [email protected]