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{
    "id": 1159469,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1159469/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 156,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kathiani, WDM-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Robert Mbui",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1750,
        "legal_name": "Robert Mbui",
        "slug": "robert-mbui"
    },
    "content": "said that we have a major problem of integrity. He said that one of the major problems that employers face all over the world is that employees steal from them. He lamented for seven to 10 minutes about integrity. Insurance has also been infiltrated by the same problem. There are people who want to be insured, but they give false information because they want to benefit. There are also practitioners who do not make payments after receiving money. This is an industry that we need to sort out. Customers want to cheat. Practitioners want to steal. There are a lot of problems. The Bill has come at the right time, so that we can put some order in this industry. Kenyans have suffered for years. Quite a number of insurance companies have gone down with Kenyans’ money. People cause accidents and then change the name of their vehicles because they want to take the vehicles back to roads. There are a lot of people who have lost a lot out of fraudulent insurance claims. There are people who get involved in accidents but they cannot be paid. I remember at one time after comprehensively insuring my vehicle for almost eight years, we got a small accident that would have cost a small amount of money, but the insurance company stayed with the vehicle for about three months. So the accident cost me three months of lost business. I was using that vehicle for some business. For the three months the vehicle was not in use, I lost quite a lot because of that. When it was returned, nothing much had been done to it. I looked at the cost of what I had lost within the period and it did not make sense. In fact, I asked myself the purpose of paying comprehensive insurance. The amount I paid for one year would have covered the repairs. So, this is an industry where people have suffered. Hon. Washiali has come up with a way of ensuring that we instil professionalism in the sector, so that these problems can be a thing of the past. The Government, first and foremost, has made insurance a must have in some sectors. It is a must to have insurance on a vehicle on the road. Our boda boda operators are crying because they say it is expensive. It is a must to have at least a third-party insurance. It is a must for employers to ensure that they have workman compensation for their staff. Because the Government has played a role in ensuring that this is something that many people must have, then as a House, we must put regulations in place to ensure that practitioners do not take advantage of the situation. This sector must be controlled. I am happy with what Hon. Washiali is proposing. He is proposing that we establish the Insurance Institute of Kenya and the Insurance Professionals Examinations Board. Most important are the functions he has proposed for the institutions. One of the functions he has proposed for the Insurance Institute of Kenya is to establish, monitor and promote standards. We cannot operate without standards and monitoring. He is insisting that there must be a way of monitoring the standards being applied in the industry. The other function is to register practitioners. People cannot just come from the streets and purport to be insurance professionals and brokers without going through some kind of training or without understanding the system. That function is really important. Finally, he is proposing that the Institute promotes research, which means they will conduct benchmarking studies. They will look at best practices all over the world and see what we can pick and apply in this country. This is an excellent piece of legislation. It will go a long way in ensuring that this country’s insurance sector is regulated. People will not be fearful of investing money even in insurance packages that are not a must in law. When I was in school, the only thing I knew about insurance education was some course called actuarial science. I remember we were told it was a very difficult course. In fact, people would attempt it and drop out and prefer to even go do medicine. With the Institute in place, we The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}