Third Party Insurance Works In Nigeria

On a very hot and humid day, I was driving with a friend of mine, suddenly, a man switched from his lane to mine, but he failed to signal a lane change. I had to slam on my breaks to avoid hitting him while also honking at the same time.

Visibly shaken and pissed, I looked at my friend expecting him to react, he tilted his head sideways, gave a sheepish smile and  he said “You know say you be foreigner, you no know how we dey do am for this side. You think this na Houston? Baba calm down, the man don get you this time, next time you go get another person”

I looked at him surprised he would say such as I expected better from him. I had the right of way, and this man just cut me off and he was here justifying him.

Then he continued “Let me tell you something you need to get into your head. Most Lagosians driving did not have a formal driving lesson. Especially since automatic motor enter Naija, people just learn how to put a car in D and begin to drive. No one taught them the rules of engagement. They learn as they drive, but nothing formal.”,

I asked him why the man couldn’t signal his intent to change lane rather than cut me off so abruptly, he laughed and shook his head, then leaned towards me and whispered, “driving in Lagos is a war, and in a war, you don’t tell your enemy your next move, lest they counter it”

I was flummoxed, it took me a while to process what he had just said, then I rebutted, well by law drivers must have insurance so their insurance will cover the damages. Then he toned down his voice as if to share a secret with me. “First of all, third party insurance in Nigeria does not work, forget that one, if person jam your motor, them go beg you and you go go fix am yourself.” “Secondly, you will spend a long time chasing shadows to collect money from insurance companies.”

This conversation seemed to take it up a notch from the conversation with my sister in-law.  At this point I was beginning to feel hopeless about our insurance industry. Not to be deterred, I embarked on doing some research about the industry.

Today, I can authoritatively tell you that my friend was wrong. I will share my experience with insurance companies in future articles and tell you how to maximize your insurance policy. But for now let me share some information with you that you need to process.

According to an article I read on guardian newspaper the total number of cars on Nigerian roads per the Nigerian Bureau of statistics, there are about  11.7 million cars on Nigerian road. We have already discussed the fact that it is mandatory for all these cars to have third party insurance.

The average cost of liability insurance is N5,000(five thousand Naira). N5,000 * 11,700,000 = N58,500,000,000 (fifty-eight billion, five hundred million Naira). That’s how much insurance companies are pocketing because you do not know your right. Above all, you are wasting money by not taking advantage of the insurance you pay for?

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