The Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) is a Government agency responsible for the regulation and supervision of the insurance industry in Uganda. IRA does not sell insurance products.

Insurance is a mechanism through which a person transfers a risk (s) to a professional risk carrier in this case, an insurance company at a consideration called premium. The insurance company in return promises to compensate the policyholder/insured when a loss occurs.

It is a document evidencing the existence of an insurance contract. The policy contains terms and conditions of the contract. It is important to obtain, read and understand your insurance policy.

There are two forms of insurance life (long term) and non‐life/general (short term). Life assurance contracts run for more than one year whereas general insurance contracts run for one year or less.

There are life products like Group life, offered for a year and taken out to cover several people on one policy. These are majorly taken by employers for employees.

Failure to pay insurance premiums as stipulated under the contract is a breach of policy terms and leads to termination of the contract by the insurance company.

If it is a life policy, the policyholder can claim for surrender proceeds. The period or term before surrender varies from company to company.

If one fails to pay premium before the surrender period, the policy lapses and no refund is given to the policyholder. But if the policyholder fails to pay premium up to or after surrender period, the policyholder can either get surrender value or the policy can be considered as paid up for a lower sum assured.

Yes, you can. In the general insurance contracts, cancellation of the policy leads to either a proportionate refund of the premiums or a refund of premiums on a short period basis.

However, under a life assurance contract, some companies provide a 30‐day period (cooling off period), whereby if the policyholder decides to withdraw within the period, he/she can cancel the policy and obtain a refund less administrative expenses incurred by the insurance company. The refund on any policy is guided by the cancellation clause.

If a company collapses or is de‐licensed, it operates on a run‐off basis. The company will continue to operate without taking on new business until its wound up or is again re‐ licensed. The policyholders are fully safeguarded by the IRA during that period of run‐off and the company will meet all its obligations with the clients.

You must report any loss or damage to the insurance company immediately and submit all the necessary documents requested by the insurance company. You are required to cooperate with the company to facilitate the smooth handling of the claim.

If your claim is declined or when dissatisfied with your insurance company, lodge a complaint with the IRA’s Complaints Bureau through this email: [email protected] You can, also, write a letter detailing your complaint to the CEO, IRA P.O.Box 22855, Kampala. Or call us on our toll free line, 0800,124124

Motor Insurance covers you against loss or damage to your own vehicle due to accidental fire, theft, accident, third –party bodily injury or death, third party property loss or damage.

There are several types of covers under motor insurance namely; Motor Third party which protects you against third party losses including death and bodily injury of the other party.

There is Accident Fire and Theft motor insurance which protects you against damage to your vehicle due to accident theft and fire.

There is also Motor Comprehensive insurance cover which protects you against the third party’s bodily injury and/or property damage as well as loss/ damage to your vehicle due to accident, fire or theft.

Motor third party insurance was introduced by the Motor Vehicle Insurance (Third Party Risks) Act in 1989. The Act provides for compulsory insurance against third party bodily risks in respect of the use of vehicles.

It is mandatory that any vehicle, van or motorcycle for private or commercial use should have Motor Third Party insurance cover. The law only exempts Government owned vehicles.

The person who benefits from Motor Third Party is a third party who suffers loss or death or bodily injury as a result of an accident. This maybe any road user, such as a pedestrian, a motor vehicle passenger, a property owner involved in an accident. The first party is the owner of the vehicle or motorcycle whereas the insurance company is the second party.

If you are involved in a motor accident, the general rules that you need to observe are: