J$4.4 billion paid out for first three months of 2023
Representative of the Insurance Association of Jamaica (IAJ), Kaydian Thomas-Bowen has shared that in 2022, the insurance industry paid out J$16.4 billion in motor claims.
“[That amount] represented an increase of 16 per cent of the amount paid in 2021,” she said.
“For the first three months of 2023, we have paid out approximately J$4.4 billion, up nine per cent on the amount paid out during the corresponding period of 2022. It is an improvement but we still have a lot of work to do,” she added.
We are concerned that this came from 13,818 claims from the period January to March and this would be 1000 claims per week which puts a strain on our ability as insurers to set up claims in a timely manner.
Kaydian Thomas-Bowen, IAJ representative
Thomas-Bowen shared those figures on Tuesday (June 6) at the launch of the Grennell’s Driving School Crash Free 2023 Defensive Driving Workshop and Road Safety Expo.
“We are concerned that this came from 13,818 claims from the period January to March and this would be 1000 claims per week which puts a strain on our ability as insurers to set up claims in a timely manner. We need to work together to get these figures down,” she said.
The IAJ representative highlighted that insurance allows people to receive compensation for losses that may arise from a crash with the aim of getting people back on the road with minimum delay, inconvenience, and loss of income.
“However, increasing claims will lead to increased premiums,” she informed, hinting that when claims continue to flow in for motor vehicle crashes, delays will be lengthy and pay outs for those claims may increase.
Even with comparatively low fatal crashes, do not become complacent
Thomas-Bowen, in her remarks, said that the IAJ is encouraged to begin Road Safety Month with statistics that indicate reduced road fatalities in the first four months of the year.
“Road fatalities have gone down by 15 per cent when compared to the corresponding period. It appears that the new road traffic regulations may have had a positive impact on driver behaviour so far. All the partners who worked to make this long-awaited legislation a reality must be commended for sticking to the task,” she said.
We must not get complacent as what we want to do is to change driver behaviour permanently.
Kaydian Thomas-Bowen, Insrance Association of Jamaica representative
“However, we must not get complacent as what we want to do is to change driver behaviour permanently. This will require cooperative effort,” she added, urging people to work together to make the remainder of 2023 crash free.
The ‘Crash-Free 2023 Defensive Driving Workshop and Road Safety Expo’ is slated to take place on June 28 at the Spanish Court Hotel in St. Andrew.
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