Insurance Incentives for 10m Motorcyclists

EghtesadOnline: The Personal Injury Indemnity Fund is offering a series of incentives to encourage some 10 million uninsured motorcyclists in the country to acquire an insurance policy as part of a larger scheme that has now come to fruition.

News ID: ۷۷۴۰۴۳

19 February 2017

Road accidents in Iran claim 17,000 lives and injure 350,000 annually and 10-11 million motorcyclists, only 5% of whom are insured, account for a significant portion of these fatalities at 30%.

According to Ali Jabbari, the director of PIIF, the fund collaborated with major organizations such as the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance and the Central Insurance of Iran to design a national scheme in 2015, “which has now reached implementation stage”, the official telegram channel of the Economy Ministry announced.

While focusing on a demographic with drastically low insurance rates, the scheme aims to promote a culture of insurance throughout the country and influence the mindset that perceives insurance as a luxury item, Financial Tribune reported.

As part of the scheme, PIIF, whose headquarters is situated in the Ministry of Economy, is offering three incentives. The first one is related to waiving the fines a lack of insurance would entail.

Motorcyclists who do not have an insurance policy, making up 95% of the cyclist population, mostly cannot afford a policy because of their low income levels. They are currently subject to a fine of 2.3 million rials ($60), which equals an annual insurance premium payment.

The incentives, which according to Jabbari will begin from February 19 and be effective until the end of the year (March 20, 2017), will be offered by all insurance companies.

The two other incentives, he adds, include a rebate in premium rates and flexible installments of small payments that will be provided with the approval of the insurance companies. In spite of this, “motorcyclists can currently purchase an insurance policy at 5,000 rials to 7,000 rials (about 20 cents) a day”.

“The traffic police will also prevent motorcycles without insurance policies from moving around,” the official noted, adding that those who do not have a driving license will also be able to receive the incentives.

Jabbari hoped that motorcycle owners would see the incentives as an opportunity for purchasing an insurance policy that would “remove a number of consequences of traffic accidents that could affect themselves, their families and others involved”.