ICEA Group has paid Shs 5 million to The Observer journalist Benon Herbert Oluka, bringing an end to a protracted row over insurance compensation that put the powers of the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) to the test.
IRA operates a complaints bureau that is mandated to resolve compensation claim disagreements between insurance companies and their clients without going through costly and time- consuming court processes.
ICEA initially defied the regulator, insisting in meetings and correspondences that they have no obligation to pay a third party victim of an accident because the insured vehicle owner had breached their policy terms. However, IRA insisted that its way was the right one and gave the insurance firm an August 16, 2016 deadline to compensate Oluka.
Oluka broke his left arm in the accident in April 2015, in a vehicle that he and colleagues hired for an assignment. He is due for his second major operation in November.
The vehicle was comprehensively insured by ICEA. But the insurer refused to compensate Oluka as a third party because the vehicle owner dared to hire out the car yet he had taken a private comprehensive insurance policy.
On August 8, after ICEA provided yet another counter-argument, IRA CEO Kaddunabbi Ibrahim Lubega moved to end the dispute by giving the insurer two weeks to pay up.
“This matter has been long outstanding and the need for it to be concluded cannot be over emphasized. The complainant is in pain and due for another operation and any further delay will be unfair,” he wrote. “Let us have evidence of settlement by 16th August 2016.”
In a response dated August 10, ICEA chief executive John Karionji told IRA that they disagreed with the authority but would “proceed to pay the third party on the strength of your instructions and treat the same as an ex-gratia payment”.
On Monday August 22, Oluka e-mailed ICEA Group, confirming that Shs 5m had been deposited onto his bank account.
REGULATOR’S ASSURANCE
IRA Spokesperson Mariam Nalunkuuma yesterday told The Observer that by December 31, 2015, the five-year-old complaints bureau had registered 160 complaints. It had settled 66 of them; at least 28 had been closed, while 52 were pending.
“We encourage anyone who has an insurance- related complaint to come to IRA for re-dress,” Nalunkuuma said. “It is not necessarily the case that when you come to IRA, you will be compensated. IRA will listen to your case and the insurance and then make a decision.”
Insurance penetration in Uganda remains poor, at only 0.8 per cent of GDP, with many insurance-capable people worried that insurers would always find an excuse not to compensate them.
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
