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"id": 234811,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/234811/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Kiunjuri",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Energy",
"speaker": {
"id": 175,
"legal_name": "Festus Mwangi Kiunjuri",
"slug": "mwangi-kiunjuri"
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"content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir. I stand to support this Bill. I am happy to note that this Bill seeks to establish the Insurance Regulatory Authority. The functions of the Authority, which are laid down in this Bill, can be considered a step forward in the development of our insurance industry. The functions will ensure that insurance firms are run well and effectively. They will also ensure proper regulation and control of insurance business in this country. This has not been happening and as a result, the conduct of insurance firms in this country is questionable. The standard of most of our insurance firms is equally questionable. The policy holder's interest, as a result, is always at stake. If you look at this Bill, it also seeks to protect the interest of insurance policy holders. Given what is happening today, policy holders are punished even though they remit money to their respective insurance firms to take care of them. You will notice that most insurance firms have become irresponsible and do not consider the plight of their customers. All they do is to collect money, but they do not fulfil their obligations. 3618 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES November 14, 2006 Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we are hoping that the Authority will have the powers to approve licences only for those companies that are credible and willing to comply with the law without shifting goal posts. The Authority should also make sure that companies that have been blacklisted before because of their questionable reputation are not registered. The first thing the Authority should do is to recall all the licences and issue them afresh. This is because, all a long, we have been getting service from a cartel of people who are not willing to put the interests of this country first, but are after exploiting Kenyans. The insurance companies that have abdicated their responsibilities should also be put on the spotlight. For example, there are so many people who pay their premiums, but the insurance firms do not take up their responsibility thereby passing liability to the policy holder. Many people have suffered today because of this. So many policy holders have been sued, but insurance companies refrain from undertaking the risks for which they have been paid. As a result, property belonging to policy holders has been auctioned and others are still suffering. They come to see hon. Members of Parliament for help and I believe, now that we are debating the Insurance Bill, these problems should be a thing of the past. Insurance companies have really caused pain to policy holders. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, we should ensure that this Authority reconsiders the issue of settling claims. First and foremost, no insurance company will give you a cover before you pay up for it. You must be in a position to pay the percentage they will ask from you. However, when it comes to settlement of claims, they take forever to do so. This is not of any benefit to the policy holders because it does not make sense to be paid your claim after three or four years. In any case, such compensation will not be commensurate to the amount of money you deposit with the insurance firm. These companies make a lot of money out of holding deposits from customers, but they will never pay you any interest when it comes to settling claims. I hope that this Authority will also be able to do away with fake and masquerading insurance brokers and agents. Most Kenyans have suffered because in the market today, you will find fake insurance covers being sold. The sellers of these policies do so in offices that are well recognised. We know where those offices are, but nobody has cared to take action. We hope that this also will be a thing of the past. We also have company agents who craftily issue people with a third party insurance cover even upon being requested to issue a comprehensive one. It then becomes difficult to lodge a complaint especially when you are involved in an accident. In fact, the insurance company involved will ignore your complaints and yet it is their responsibility to hear you out. When you tell them that it is their agents who sold you the policy, they will hear none of it. What they do is to make you visit their offices constantly and yet they know that their agents did something wrong. We hope that the Authority will be able to correct some of these anomalies. Lastly, now that this Authority shall be granted powers to carry out banking functions, I hope that they will undertake not to do that as their core function. If they do that, it is possible that they might forget everything else that they have been mandated to do. The Authority should know that its main purpose is to arrest the already deteriorating situation in the insurance industry. The Authority is supposed to protect policy holders. I hope that all other functions that they have been mandated to undertake will come second after the main one, which is protecting the mwananchi who is a policy holder and ensuring that he benefits. Policy holders are not supposed to suffer when making claims. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, with those few remarks, I beg to support."
}