Sun Insurance has confirmed that its revenue through Third Party Insurance will decline by about $4.5 million a year and there will be 20 to 30 job losses in rural areas after the announcement by the government on the removal of the Third Party Policy on vehicle insurance.
The new process is the setting up of an Accident Compensation Commission after the passing of the bill in parliament last week.
This would mean that vehicle owners will have to pay an annual Accident Compensation Levy to the Land Transport Authority and they will no longer have to get the Third Party Insurance from the insurance companies.
Sun Insurance CEO Lolesh Sharma says they were getting about 50% of the total Third Party Insurance premiums received every year.
Sharma says they are working out ways to minimise the impact to the company by trying to bring in other products and by trying to use innovative ways of doing things.
He says the Consumer Council of Fiji has been wrongly blaming insurance companies when the compulsory third party policy is governed by law.
Attorney General and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed‑Khaiyum has already said that this is an urgent matter as accident victims are currently not getting third party insurance if the driver is at fault in certain cases.
Accident victims were not getting any compensation if the driver did not have a valid driver’s licence or was drunk.
Sayed‑Khaiyum says there have been a lot of delays and the victims have suffered for many years.
Meanwhile Consumer Council of Fiji CEO Premila Kumar says the council is happy with the setting up of the Fiji Accident Compensation Commission as this will definitely help the accident victims.
Kumar says the insurance companies could have done a lot to help the people.
