The Policyholders’ Compensation Fund (PCF) has kicked off a new campaign to educate the masses on its mandate and functions in order to increase the public’s confidence in the insurance sector.
The Fund was established for the primary purpose of providing compensation to claimants of an insurer that has been put under Statutory Management and for the secondary purpose of increasing the general public’s confidence in the insurance sector.
The campaign will see PCF meet with special interest groups that include Media, Insurance Agents, Boda Boda/Tuk Tuk Riders, Matatu owners and other stakeholders including the DCCs/Chiefs, Business Community, Kuppet, Knut, Women, Youth, Religious groups and Co-operatives.
Speaking in Mombasa Tuesday during the sensitization forum dubbed ‘PCF Mtaani,’Rosemary Kavili head of corporate communications at PCF said the aim of the forum is to educate the public on its mandate and functions in order to increase the public’s confidence in the insurance sector.
‘The campaign targets
members of public to come forward and lodge their claims with PCF such as members of the public who had insured with Resolution Insurance Company Limited (under statutory management) and Standard assurance Company (under liquidation),’ she said.
‘The maximum amount for compensation is currently gazetted as Sh.250, 000 per claim,’ she added.
She noted that the fund launched compensation for policyholders of collapsed insurers on March 10, 2021 following an amendment to the Insurance Act in 2019.
‘Worth noting that prior to the amendment, compensation for policyholders and claimants only commenced upon a collapsed insurer being fully wound up in court,’ she said.
Kaveni added that due to delays in the winding up process for insurers in court, policyholders were unable to lodge claims for compensation and were thus unable to receive any reprieve from compensation for their claims with the collapsed insurers.
Among the roles of the PCF are to provide compensation to policyholders, statutory management, liqui
dation when ordered by court, risk profiling and to advise the Cabinet Secretary.
As of to date, the PCF has managed to compensate a number of claimants including 744 claimants from Resolution insurance, 45 from Concord Insurance and 10 from Standard insurance.
Chairman of Mombasa County boda boda operators Khalifa Mwanzao said that they appreciate the fund for coming up with such a forum that will provide solutions to drivers problems considering many at times, claimants would be deprived of their rights to compensation after insurance companies collapse.
Secretary General tuk tuk operations Agney Omanga requested PCF to work with core stakeholders including the traffic police in order to make operations easier for the riders.
He explained that the riders are sometimes caught up in a fixture where they have to deal with a dissolved insurance company and at the same time arrests from the traffic police.
He said most of the time the police do not have information hence pleaded with the organization to com
e up with a department that can help with first hand communication with the riders and to also come up with a way of transitioning to a new insurer as the riders await compensation.
‘As tuk tuk operators in a formal sector, most of our operators do not know where to run to incase of inquiries on claims especially when insurance companies dissolve or they have to deal with agencies that are sometimes not honest,’ said Omanga.
The campaign dubbed ‘PCF Mtaani’ will traverse counties with a target of increasing the level of awareness of PCF’s core mandate of providing compensation to claimants of an insurer that has been placed under Statutory Management or whose license has been cancelled and to increase the public’s confidence in the insurance sector.
Noel Zuma Deputy Director, Compensation at PCF says they have a fund size of Sh19.1 billion to help in payment of claimants of an insurer that has been put under statutory management.
He appealed to members of the public who have insurance policy with all insu
rances under statutory management to step up and claim compensation.
He says most insurance companies collapse due to underpricing of insurance products, poor corporate governance practices and economic downturns and global shocks amongst others.
Speaking during a sensitization forum with tuk tuk and boda boda operators in Mombasa, County Commissioner Mohammed Nur advised the operators to adhere to set guidelines by Insurance bodies to avoid falling prey to illegal insurance companies.
Nur said that many youth use tuk tuks and boda boda on daily economic activities thus reiterating that their safety in case of an accident is paramount.
The county administrator said stakeholders’ should strive to improve the ethical climate in the insurance industry by punishing and pushing out bad actors.
Source: Kenya News Agency