The Insurance Commission is advising the public to follow up and make claims when accidents occur.
According to Central Region Director of Insurance, Nicholina Naa Yeye Aduamoa, though the insurance company with whom one has signed on to may be aware of the accident, it behooves the victim to make the claim.
Outlining the processes involved in receiving claims, she pointed out that the first step is to check the vehicle’s insurance and identify the insurance company responsible.
Speaking further she said that when it happens that the one being covered is dead, a designated relative may go for police report as evidence that an accident really occurred.
However, “the family member needs to be properly identified …so my ID and a letter of administration that the family has really chosen me to follow up for the claims would be required”, she said on Angel FM’s Anopa Bofo Morning Show.
Touching on the dynamics of insurance, she stated that when it is a comprehensive insurance, the insurance company would pay for the vehicle, which is termed as property damage.
She asserted that when the car doesn’t have insurance or no insurer can be identified to pay the claims, then it falls under compensation fund and under this policy, only victims of the road crash would be catered for without the vehicle.
Citing the deadly collision over the weekend in which resulted in 14 persons burning to death on the Takoradi-Cape Coast road as an example, she advised relatives of the deceased to take police reports or documents from the hospital as evidence, to receive “compensation for the dead”.
She further educated the public that there are three insurance covers namely; comprehensive, third party as well as fire and theft insurance policies.
“From where I sit, when the insurance expires the insurance company can decide to compensate for ex-gratia and pay something little when the timeframe is short. But under normal circumstance you have no contract with the insurance company when your insurance expires”, she explained.
Madam Nicolena thus suggested that drivers should renew their insurance a week before it expires completely however, the compensation fund has been created to help when claims are repudiated after expiry.
