Govt pushes third-party insurance
KATHMANDU, Sept 16:
Traffic police, who regularly ask motorists for driving license and bill book may soon start asking vehicle owners for an addition document, if a new regulation pushed by the Insurance Board is endorsed by the government.
The document that verifies insurance coverage of vehicles plying the streets will have to be shown whenever vehicle owners are pulled over by traffic police.
Insurance Board, the insurance sector regulator, believes this new regulation will better enforce third-party insurance policy introduced two years ago.
In September 2009, the Insurance Board had introduced a new rule making it mandatory for all vehicle owners to purchase third-party insurance policies.
Because of this law, compensation for the family of a person killed in road accidents has now gone up by 10 folds to Rs 500,000, while those injured can legally demand up to Rs 200,000 to cover medical expenses.
But two years down the line, many vehicle owners have stopped renewing their insurance policies. This has raised fears that road accidents may once again snowball into feuds or general strikes as in the past, due to lack of compensation amount.
“We believe the new measure (of deploying traffic police to check third-party insurance certificates) will oblige vehicle owners to insure their vehicles. This will ultimately deter family members of road accident victims from staging protests,” Shekhar Kumar Aryal, spokesperson of Insurance Board, told Republica on Thursday.
Aryal is still not sure when the new regulation will come into effect, but he said the Board is coordinating with various government bodies, including traffic police departments, to enforce the measure as soon as possible. “We are also working closely with the transport department as it is the authority that comes in direct contact with vehicle owners,” he informed.
The department is the place where new vehicles are registered. It is also the authority which issues bill book -- document that drivers have to carry whenever they are behind the wheels.
Because of its influence, Insurance Board has asked the department to register new vehicles only if owners are able to furnish third-party insurance policies. “This is being followed, Aryal said. “But the problem usually erupts a year later when owners fail to renew their policies.”
According to Aryal, owners of two-wheelers are the ones who are seriously flouting the third-party insurance law, as only about 200,000 of more than 700,000 registered two-wheelers have insurance coverage.
“It is the same with private vehicles,” he said, without giving figures. This is because most of the private vehicles rarely get into accidents, he added. “But mishaps can happen any time,” Aryal said, implying it is better to be safe than sorry.
Source: Republica
Traffic police, who regularly ask motorists for driving license and bill book may soon start asking vehicle owners for an addition document, if a new regulation pushed by the Insurance Board is endorsed by the government.
The document that verifies insurance coverage of vehicles plying the streets will have to be shown whenever vehicle owners are pulled over by traffic police.
Insurance Board, the insurance sector regulator, believes this new regulation will better enforce third-party insurance policy introduced two years ago.
In September 2009, the Insurance Board had introduced a new rule making it mandatory for all vehicle owners to purchase third-party insurance policies.
Because of this law, compensation for the family of a person killed in road accidents has now gone up by 10 folds to Rs 500,000, while those injured can legally demand up to Rs 200,000 to cover medical expenses.
But two years down the line, many vehicle owners have stopped renewing their insurance policies. This has raised fears that road accidents may once again snowball into feuds or general strikes as in the past, due to lack of compensation amount.
“We believe the new measure (of deploying traffic police to check third-party insurance certificates) will oblige vehicle owners to insure their vehicles. This will ultimately deter family members of road accident victims from staging protests,” Shekhar Kumar Aryal, spokesperson of Insurance Board, told Republica on Thursday.
Aryal is still not sure when the new regulation will come into effect, but he said the Board is coordinating with various government bodies, including traffic police departments, to enforce the measure as soon as possible. “We are also working closely with the transport department as it is the authority that comes in direct contact with vehicle owners,” he informed.
The department is the place where new vehicles are registered. It is also the authority which issues bill book -- document that drivers have to carry whenever they are behind the wheels.
Because of its influence, Insurance Board has asked the department to register new vehicles only if owners are able to furnish third-party insurance policies. “This is being followed, Aryal said. “But the problem usually erupts a year later when owners fail to renew their policies.”
According to Aryal, owners of two-wheelers are the ones who are seriously flouting the third-party insurance law, as only about 200,000 of more than 700,000 registered two-wheelers have insurance coverage.
“It is the same with private vehicles,” he said, without giving figures. This is because most of the private vehicles rarely get into accidents, he added. “But mishaps can happen any time,” Aryal said, implying it is better to be safe than sorry.
Source: Republica
