Old insurance stickers no longer valid; electronic motor insurance takes over

The National Insurance Commission, NIC, has announced that it has stopped the issuance and use of the old motor insurance stickers effective January 20, 2020.

It follows the rolling out of the electronic motor insurance sticker.

The change was announced in a statement issued by the NIC to the public to among other things ensure the safety of the general public and curb the phenomenon of fake motor insurance stickers.

The Commission, which is the regulatory and supervisory body of the insurance services sector in the statement said it has with a broad consumer and prudential regulatory mandate under Section 2(3) of the Insurance Act 2006, (Act 724) commenced the implementation of the Motor Insurance Database (MID), effective 1st January 2020.

The objective of the introduction of the Motor Insurance Database (MID) is to curb the menace of vehicles with fake motor insurance stickers plying the roads, thus endangering lives and property.

The NIC is this drawing the attention of the general public to the following key features of the Motor Insurance Database (MID):

Confirmation Texts

Upon the purchase of a valid Motor Insurance Policy, the insured will receive a text message confirming that the Motor Insurance policy is authentic. The following is a sample of the confirmation text message:

How to Check the authenticity of a Motor Insurance Policy using a Mobile Phone

Dial *920*57# and follow the instructions

Members of the general public can verify the authenticity of a Motor Insurance Policy by dialing a USSD code as follows:

The following is a sample of the output of the USSD check:

Please Note

This functionality allows an individual to verify whether a vehicle has a valid insurance before boarding it.

The Police can also use this functionality to verify the authenticity of a Motor Insurance Sticker.

QR Code Scan

The MID comes with electronic Motor Insurance Stickers with QR Codes which are generated from the MID Portal. The QR code can be scanned with a QR Code Reader to verify the authenticity of the sticker and for that matter the insurance policy.

The following is a sample of the output of a QR Code scan:

Electronic Motor Insurance Sticker

Below is a specimen of the enhanced ‘look and feel’ of the new Motor Insurance Sticker for the attention of Members of the general public:

Old Insurance Stickers No Longer Valid

This simply means that old motor insurance stickers are no longer valid. In other words, any old motor insurance sticker issued after Monday 20th January, 2020 is illegal and must be rejected by Members of the insuring public.

All Insurance Companies have been authorized to upload all motor insurance policies issued prior to 20th January, 2020 on to the database. This will enable the Police and the general public verify with accuracy the authenticity of such Motor Insurance Policies.

What to Expect in the Coming Days

In the coming days, the NIC in collaboration with the Motor Traffic & Transport Division (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service will be conducting random checks across the country to ensure effective implementation.

For Enquiries: Call us on 0302 960659 or 0302 960696 or Email: complaints@nicgh.org / info@nicgh.org

CBN