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Uganda: Insurers Seek to Grow Clientele Base
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The Monitor (Kampala)
14 May 2008
Posted to the web 14 May 2008
Tom Magumba
Kampala
Most Ugandans remain skeptical or uninformed but insurance companies are making strides to prove their relevance by making timely claim payments a move that could encourage more people to take up insurance policies.
Goldstar and NICO insurance companies separately paid over Shs1.4 billion to their clients last week. NICO insurance settled a claim worth Shs452 million to Dooba Enterprises - a leading importers of hardware in Kampala. The company had lost goods during a flood last year.
Mr Charles Nazebaa DOOBA Enterprise company manager said they incurred a loss of about Shs1 billion but was satisfied with the compensation. "We are hoping to recover the balance from selling the scrap," he said. NICO's Managing Director Ronald Zake said their client was covered under the special perils and fire policy which majority of businesses in the country have ignored.
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"This is a very important policy that every business must have but traders shun the service," he said adding that the money was higher than that but we arrived at this after evaluating for the salvage value of the goods. Goldstar Insurance paid claims worthy Shs1 billion to Euroflex, a mattress firm and White Showman, a general merchandise company. Mr Stanley Kimbio, assistant general manger at Goldstar insurance said some businesses do not receive full compensation for losses because they under insure there assets. Recently the Uganda Insurance Association (UIA) announced stringent disciplinary measures for insurers who may attempt to dodge or delay claim payments to clients. UIA chairman Solomon Rubondo said in an interview that claim payment records among insurers had significantly improved in the industry over the years.
"The public is gaining confidence in insurance. With stringent diplomacy measures on the table the image of our industry as service providers will improve," he said. Mr Rubondo said insurance business was previously taunted as schemes to fleece the public an impression that greatly affected the development of the insurance business.
National Insurance Corporation (NIC) still holds a market record having paid of $3 million (over Shs5 billion) to the government of Uganda for the loss of the crashed M1-172 presidential Helicopter in 2006.
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