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The National Insurance Commission (NIC) has begun a sanitization operation to clamp down on uninsured vehicles and those with fake insurance in the Eastern Region.

The five-day exercise by the Eastern regional office of the NIC and the regional Motor Transport and Traffic Department (MTTD) of the police is to enforce the Insurance Act 2006, Act 724 and ensure vehicles plying the roads in the region meet all insurance requirements.

Stationed at Mile 50 in Koforidua on the main Koforidua-Accra road on Wednesday, April 28, the NIC and the MTTD jointly examined vehicles plying the road to check their insurances, road worthiness and driver’s license.

Education and fake insurance
In interview with the Daily Graphic, the Eastern Regional Manager of the NIC, Mrs Esther Konadu Ofori said the exercise was necessary as it also presented the NIC the opportunity to educate and enforce the laws.

“This exercise is to enforce and educate drivers and vehicle owners on the Insurance Act 2006 Act 724 so that in event of accidents we can fall on their insurance companies to help them pay the damages. It appears many drivers are still having free lunch on the road, and together with the police we want to eliminate vehicles without insurance policies and fake insurances on the road,” she said.

She added that most drivers do not pay attention to the period of their insurance cover, putting them at risk of facing the law.

A police officer checking the insurance of a track loaded with plastic tanks.

Appeal
Mrs Konadu Ofori lamented the excessive existence of fake insurances brokered by fake agents in the system over the years. She appealed to drivers and vehicle owners to be very cautious of agents that assist them with insurance.

“We are appealing to drivers especially vehicle owners to demand license numbers issued to agents by the NIC and verifying from same before dealing with them; else fake insurances would be served by the quack agents. You must also ensure you have received a confirmation message from the NIC to confirm the authenticity of your insurance policy,” she said.

She urged the general public to take interest in visiting the NIC to make enquiries about insurance policies, and also report bad experiences with insurance companies for appropriate measures to be taken.

Prosecution
The Eastern Regional MTTD station officer, Chief Inspector Kwame Atiemo in an interview, cautioned drivers to check the authenticity of their insurance and make sure they are captured on the central database by using the shortcode *920*57# given by the NIC to avoid arrest and prosecution.

He said the number of accidents on the road in recent times require that the Police become more vigilant on insurance policies in order to assist victims in dealing with demurrages in events of accidents.