The Insurance Agony in the Streets of Mogadishu
Photo: @radidalson.com
Motor insurance is an important protection for not just the car but for the owner’s financial liability as well. Before 1991, it was a requirement for every vehicle in Mogadishu to possess a road tax certificate, insurance policy, and MOT. Surprisingly, 30 years later, these legislative requirements have barely been adhered to and motorists are seen roaming the streets of Mogadishu uninsured. If two vehicles (one licensed and the other not) are involved in an accident, the unlicensed one bears responsibility for the damages and repairs the licensed car. If both parties have a license, based on the details of the accident, the fault will fix the other driver’s car. In case of human casualty, seldom than not, the car bears the blame.
According to the monthly accident reports, automobile accidents are classified into three categories: Private cars – Rickshaw and Military accidents.
Table 1: Total number of Road Traffic Accidents in Mogadishu from 2013 Through 2018 | ||||
Years | Private car | Rickshaw | Military | TOTAL |
2013 | 2051 | 146 | 191 | 2388 |
2014 | 2407 | 217 | 116 | 2740 |
2015 | 2286 | 377 | 115 | 2778 |
2016 | 2084 | 424 | 105 | 2613 |
2017 | 2295 | 647 | 103 | 3045 |
Total | 11123 | 1811 | 630 | 13564 |
Sources: Traffic Police | ||||
In three consecutive years (2014, 2015, 2016) the total number of military traffic accidents decreased, but this was followed by a slight increase in the following year (2017). From the statistics and data available, the highest military accidents in the last five consecutive years were either caused by or involving the police force.
Table2: Annual number of military traffic accidents from 2013 to 2017 in Mogadishu | |||||
Year | NISA | AMISOM | /Police | Army force | Total |
2013 | 18 | 15 | 134 | 24 | 191 |
2014 | 37 | 9 | 48 | 22 | 116 |
2015 | 32 | 15 | 49 | 19 | 115 |
2016 | 12 | 24 | 55 | 19 | 110 |
2017 | 12 | 22 | 49 | 30 | 113 |
Total | 111 | 85 | 335 | 114 | 645 |
Source: Traffic Police | |||||
An accident is considered fatal if it results in a fatality(s). As seen in table 3 below, the number of traffic road accidents resulting into minor injuries have been increasing gradually between 2013 and 2016 save for 2017. Moreover, though there was an increasing trend of accidents resulting to serious injuries observed between 2013 and 2014, this decreased noticeably in 2015, and then back on an upward trend between 2016 and 2017.
Table 3: Yearly Variation in Road Traffic Accidents with Minor injuries, Serious injuries, and Fatalities between 2013-2017 in Mogadishu | ||||
Year | Minor injury | Serious injury | dead | Total |
2013 | 279 | 203 | 79 | 561 |
2014 | 371 | 268 | 122 | 761 |
2015 | 409 | 257 | 65 | 731 |
2016 | 470 | 328 | 83 | 881 |
2017 | 432 | 497 | 86 | 1015 |
Source: Traffic Police | ||||
It is evident that road users (motorists) have in recent times resorted to road-side resolution of insurance related disputes; often than not, those involved fail to agree on who should bear the fault. Insurance companies stand out as one of the biggest losers in this by losing out on policies that would have otherwise been sold. On the other hand, the state has lost massive amounts of taxes on missed revenue.
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