Sh30 a day cover for tuktuk drivers, families in Mombasa

Birdview Insurance acting CEO John Paul Otieno at Pembe za Ndovu on Wednesday / BRIAN OTIENO

A tuk-tuk is flagged off at the launch of the partnership on Wednesday at Pembe za Ndovu Mombasa / BRIAN OTIENO

Tuk-tuk drivers and their families in Mombasa will no longer have to worry about hospital bills in case of an accident.

For as little as Sh30 a day, the tuk-tuk drivers can now insure themselves and their families.

This is after Birdview Insurance partnered with the Tuk-Tuk Sacco caucus, a combination of the six biggest tuk-tuk Saccos in Mombasa, to provide insurance cover for the owners, drivers and their families.

Birdview Insurance acting CEO John Paul Otieno on Wednesday said as the newest kid on the block, Birdview has come up with a simple, affordable and relevant product for the hitherto forgotten tuk-tuk drivers.

“We are launching a welfare product targeting the drivers and the owners of the tuk-tuks. Under the product, we will cover the tuk-tuk owner and their family members and we will provide for them medical insurance up to Sh100,000,” Otieno said.

In addition, the company will also provide an accident and rescue cover for up to Sh100,000.

There will also be a farewell cover of Sh100,000 to ensure that if either the driver or anyone in their family loses their life, they will get a dignified send-off, Otieno said.

“The beneficies will be paying for their insurance on a daily basis at a rate of only Sh30. That really makes us stand out as a company and we are really proud of this,” Otieno said.

Mombasa has at least 18,000 tuk-tuk drivers.

Through this initiative, over 200,000 people will be insured.

“This is a great step towards increasing the insurance penetration in this country,” Otieno said.

Birdview Insurance director Richard Mweru said in most cases, drivers of tuk-tuks are overlooked.

“We look after the vehicle, we look after the passenger, but no one looks after the driver. No one thinks about the driver’s family,” Mweru said.

Mweru said tuk-tuk drivers are on the road all the time, exposing their lives to accidents, while building the nation.

He said the third-party insurance is not enough for the drivers, who have mouths to feed and other dependents.

“We are telling the driver that for as little as Sh30 a day, we can cover you just in case you have an accident on yourself and your family.

“When you are here, we are looking after your family. You don’t have to worry about paying the medical bills for them. For that little money you are earning, you are capable of looking after your family well."

He said Birdview takes care of those left behind by the ordinary insurance companies.

Anwar Said, a tuk-tuk driver, said there are many challenges on the roads and the last thing a tuk-tuk driver needs is to worry about their or their family’s well-being.

He said the tuk-tuk drivers are mostly left out of the workman’s compensation and Birdview has come up with a brilliant solution for them.

“This fits the needs of us as drivers. When tuk-tuk drivers get involved in accidents, people mostly contribute,” he said, noting that there is contribution fatigue

Obed Muruli, the chairman of 001 Tuktuk Sacco, said Birdview’s is an idea whose time has come.

He said most of the time tuk-tuk drivers are a forgotten lot.

“This is a new dawn for us as an informal sector,” Muruli said.

He called on all tuk-tuk drivers in Mombasa to insure themselves through Birdview Insurance.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

At Sh30 a day, tuk-tuk drivers, who earn an average of Sh500 a day, can insure the tuk-tuks as well as themselves and their families. It is an affordable premium to pay but requires discipline.