In this article, we will guide you through how to check your insurance plan online to avoid trouble from law enforcement agencies.
If you have ever found yourself in a mess such as this, you will understand better. The Nigerian Insurance Industry Database (NIID) is the prime record of all vehicles insured by any licensed insurance company in Nigeria. This is a project introduced and owned by the Nigerian Insurers Association. As with every other country of the world, motor insurance policy is compulsory in Nigeria and quite expensive. So, whether you like it or not you are expected to purchase it if you use or own a car.
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The NIID has as one of its responsibility to ensure maximum compliance with standards in the insurance industry and also to ensure that only insured vehicles are driven on our roads. So most importantly, it is set to protect the interest of every insurer in Nigeria. Let’s dive deeper into this tutorial on how to check your insurance plan online.
Understanding Motor Insurance in Nigeria
Getting valid motor insurance in Nigeria is generally considered tricky because it is really easy to fall victim of a forged document from an unlicensed insurance middleman, where in most cases the buyers are not even aware of such practices.
The Motor Vehicles (Third Party) Insurance Act of 1945 declared it a crime for anyone to drive a motor vehicle on the road without being in possession of the minimum Motor (Third Party) Insurance, which serves as a cover for the motorist against any form of uncertainty.
Liabilities occurring from a car accident can result in third-party bodily injuries or even death. In cases where such happens and the vehicle has no record on the NIID database, the police will after verification either confiscate the vehicle or issue the driver a penalty.
The Nigerian Insurance Industry Database has, therefore, made the job of law enforcement agents easy in combating the problem of fake insurance coverage through the platform. It can be accessed either online or via the mobile app when downloaded on your phone. To check the insurance status of your vehicle, you can either use the vehicle registration number or the insurance policy number.
Steps involved in verifying your insurance policy on the NIID database
Now that you know you can check whether your insurance policy is genuine or not online, let us take you through the process in detail. The platform is quite easy to use and it will only take a couple of minutes to confirm the authenticity of your motor insurance policy.
Go to the Nigerian Insurance Industry Database (NIID) official website, click on check policy, select vehicle policy, and either choose single or fleet then enter the policy code or the vehicle registration number on the available search box and hit the search button. The status of your vehicle insurance will be displayed on the screen.
From the search result, the following details will be shown: the insurer’s name, car brand, model, color, and expiration date of the policy. So, if at the end of the search your car is not on the NIID list, this will be displayed on the screen as “not available on NIID database”.
How to check available insurance plans online
Insurance plans vary and they can be tuned to suit the requirements of a particular consumer. All licensed insurers try as much as possible to design and offer various types of plans in line with the institution’s best practices and allow customers to choose from their numerous services.
It is always good to be in the know as regards the range of services provided by the company in every particular case because in some cases a car insurance plan may cover expenses you do not envisage.
This information can either be accessed by a representative of the company or you get it online. Go to the online platform of your insurer and log in to your account to know the Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) of the insurance plan. Now, locate the link to your insurance plan, this is a standard list of all the services the insurance covers. You should be able to check the status of your agreement whether is active or not once you pay your monthly premiums to the company regularly and on time and also have an account with your insurer.
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You will be issued a card that will serve as proof of the coverage once you buy any of your insurer services. This card must be kept in a safe place where you can easily show it to officials upon request. So, in case the card is not part of what you were given, reach out to your insurer immediately to know whether such is part of their services.
When you are in possession of this card the inspection officials tend to believe your coverage is active and comes from a licensed insurer. The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) is also at your disposal to verify the company’s credibility.
You can guard yourself against fraudulent car insurers by taking note of the following. The majority of car owners and drivers who purchase motor insurance fall victim because they fail to verify their vehicle status. The moment you can’t find details about your vehicle showing the exact number, color, and others on the NIID list, that is a clear indication that the insurer is fake.
Also, you can do your research earlier to know the authenticity of these insurance prior to purchase so as to protect yourself from fraud and to avoid any misunderstanding. Although there are a lot of insurers out there, only 28 of them are recognized and licensed to operate in Nigeria.
Car owners and drivers often fall prey at that stage when they need to renew their insurance plans. For this reason, they head straight to the licensing office nearest to them, and unknowingly, they will be given an illegal document that is worth nothing in case an accident occurs, thus leaving them in serious trouble.
In this case, the motorist would have zero protection and they would either face imprisonment or pay a fee from their pocket to cover the cost of damage so as to clear themselves of the trouble. That is not to talk of the inconvenience and embarrassment the driver will experience from the security agencies.
So, one thing is sure, when you verify the authenticity of your vehicle insurance policy on the NIID platform, your mind will be at peace and there is high certainty that your claim will be paid in case of any eventuality. And that ends today’s post on how to check your insurance plan online.
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