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From Leonard Ncube in Victoria Falls
INSURANCE experts within the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) are meeting in Victoria Falls to deliberate on ways of revitalising the regional bloc’s insurance scheme.

The Yellow Card Insurance Scheme is a regional motor vehicle insurance scheme that provides third party legal liability cover and compensation for medical expenses resulting from road traffic accidents caused by visiting motorists in any member state.

The facility has been in force since 1986 when a Council of Ministers ratified it in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, but has been faced with challenges such as delays in settlement of claims, low uptake, fraud as well as differences in individual member states’ laws.

The strategic planning meeting, being attended by Burundi, Djibouti, DRC, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, seeks to foster a way forward in dealing with these challenges.

Officiating at the meeting, Industry and Commerce Minister Mike Bimha, in a speech read on his behalf by Director of International Trade in the Ministry, Mrs Beatrice Mtetwa, said the scheme was important in facilitating intra-regional transit traffic, trade and tourism.

“It’s well known that the Yellow Card Scheme has been widely accepted throughout Comesa region and beyond and most importantly by Zimbabwean transporters and motorists. This has greatly contributed to the facilitation of cross border movement of goods and persons within the region,” said Minister Bimha.

He challenged member states to strategise on how to deal with challenges.

“Yellow Card has made travelling easy but has faced challenges such as delays in settlement of claims for compensation by accident victims, limited utilisation of the scheme, delays in computerisation and differences in third party laws of member states among others.

“It’s therefore necessary for this meeting to address these challenges and come up with strategies that will bring efficiency and quality service in the region as we boost intra Africa trade,” said the minister.

He said there was a need to modernise the scheme in order to attract users, adding that it’s now critical because transportation of goods is mainly by road in the region.

The planning meeting, which ends tomorrow, seeks to find a working formula for the next five years.

Minister Bimha commended the Insurance Council of Zimbabwe for implementing the scheme.

Chairman of the local National Bureau, an affiliate of ICZ Mr Patrick Kusikwenyu said the idea is to “get more people to understand the facility because it’s not for transporters only but also travellers who can cover themselves.”

The Comesa Yellow Card recognises member countries and their motorists thereby guaranteeing minimum insurance cover required by the laws of the country visited by travelling motorists, and the most important thing is that one buys cover in one country and uses it for the entire period of travel around member states without paying at each border.

If involved in accident in any member country, one has to inform that country’s Yellow Card National Bureau which will handle the matter.

@ncubeleon