By Brian Okoth
Rwanda has increased the annual insurance premiums for Mitsubishi Fuso and HOWO trucks, citing high number of accidents involving the two models.
The Central Bank of Rwanda said the charges for comprehensive covers will increase by 150 per cent.
Central bank governor, John Rwangombwa, said in a press conference in the capital Kigali on Thursday: “Accidents have increased in the past two years, and the costs incurred due to them have also increased. The losses incurred by insurance companies rose from Rwf2.6 billion ($2.3 million) to over Rwf4 billion ($3.6 million).
“Increasing insurance premiums was a measure to recover from such losses,” he said.
Rwangombwa said the increase in the costs of spare parts in the international market have also caused the upward review of insurance premiums.
“Third-party insurance premiums increased by 50 per cent for some vehicles,” he said.
Mitsubishi Fuso and HOWO trucks bore the brunt of the hike, as their premiums went up by 150 per cent.
“Insurance companies carried out risk assessments and found that they were incurring losses. The only choice to seek a way to recover from the losses was to increase insurance costs,” he said.
High capacity buses, however, saw their insurance costs lowered by 50 per cent.
In 2022, Rwanda recorded a total of 8,660 accidents, up from 4,160 in 2020, a government report indicates.
Last year, a total of 687 people died in road accidents, up from 629 in 2020, the report shows.
