The Policyholders Compensation Fund (PCF) has pitched camp in Meru County, where it is holding sensitisation forums with various groups to educate them on its mandate and functions and increase the public’s confidence in the insurance sector.
According to the fund’s Deputy Director of Corporate Communications Rosemary Kavili, the campaign dubbed “PCF Mtaani” will traverse across counties. Its target is to increase the level of awareness of PCF’s core mandate of providing compensation to claimants of an insurer that has been placed under Statutory Management or whose license has been canceled and to increase the public’s confidence in the insurance sector.
“We will be traversing across all counties with a target of calling upon the public to come forward and lodge their claims for funding with PCF for those members of the public who had claims with BlueShield Insurance Company Limited (Under liquidation), United Insurance (Under liquidation), Xplico Insurance Company (Under Statutory Management) and Invesco Insurance Company (Under Statutory Management),” said Ms Kavili.
The Five-Day campaign in Meru will see PCF meet with special interest targeted groups that include Media, Boda Boda Riders, Matatu owners, Insurance Agents, and other stakeholders including the (National Government Administration Officers, Business Community, Kuppet, Knut, Women, Youth, Religious groups and Co-operatives) to sensitize them.
Ms Kavili added that the move is part of the strategic plan to increase the level of awareness of the PCF’s mandate and functions as well as call members of the public to come forward and lodge their claims for insurance compensation.
The maximum amount for compensation is currently gazetted as Sh250, 000 per claim.
“The Fund launched compensation for policyholders of collapsed insurers in March 2021, following an amendment to the Insurance Act in 2019. Worth noting is that before the amendment, compensation for policyholders and claimants only commenced upon a collapsed insurer being fully wound up in court,” said Ms Kavili.
She added that due to delays in the winding up process for insurers in court, policyholders were unable to lodge claims for compensation and were thus unable to receive any reprieve from compensation for their claims with the collapsed insurers.
As a result, the Fund spearheaded the amendment of the Insurance Act to replace the requirement for winding up with a requirement for insurers to be placed under statutory management or have their licenses revoked for compensation to commence.
By the end of September 2024, the fund had issued at least Sh116million as compensation to 890 claimants for insurers under Statutory Management and Liquidation including Resolution Insurance Company Limited, Concord Insurance Company Limited, Standard Assurance Company Limited, Blue Shield Insurance Company Limited, United Insurance Company Limited, and Xplico Insurance Company Limited.
Ms Kavili said that Meru is the Eighth County the Fund has been engaging with its stakeholders since the launch of the PCFMtaani sensitization engagements forum which is scheduled to be conducted in all the 47 counties.
“Ultimately, the sensitization engagement forums seek to enhance the public’s understanding and knowledge about PCF which provides a last-resort protection scheme for policyholders and claimants when insurance companies collapse as well as gives confidence to insurance policyholders and claimants,” said Ms Kavili.
Meru County Bodaboda Chairman John Barasa said the sensitization forum was long overdue as many riders had lost confidence in insurance companies due to the way they were collapsing.
“We have known various issues concerning PCF which has made us build confidence with insurance companies. We were avoiding having any policy with them for the way they usually collapse but now with the assurance of compensation from the PCF we will do the necessary,” said Mr Barasa.
By Dickson Mwiti
