Please be advised, there are new developments in the general insurance industry specifically in relation to how Motor Insurance Certificates are issued. It is important that you are aware of these changes and instruct us how you would like us to handle the distribution of the document now, during the current pandemic, and in the future. We are completely flexible and will adhere to your wishes.

Fundamentally, the Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) is in the process of ‘rolling out’ the use of digital motor certificates. Historically, your Insurer or Broker would issue the certificate and then distribute this to their clients. The new plan, and it has taken effect with certain Insurers already, is that all certificates are issued digitally and then e-mailed to you. The certificate will retain its appearance, and below is an example of what you will receive.

Why are we moving to digital motor insurance stickers?

This step is aimed at reducing/eliminating insurance fraud that has ailed the industry and hampered its growth for years. The issuing of fake certificates, double insurance, and stolen insurance certificates will hopefully reduce and, eventually be eradicated.

Another problematic aspect of the traditional physical sticker is that if lost or mutilated it needed to be replaced — which was a tedious and time-consuming process. With a digital sticker, if lost you will only need to locate the digital certificate issued and reprint.

The new system titled Digital Motor Vehicle Insurance Certificate (DMVIC) commenced in October 2019 with motorcycle Insurance certificates. Currently, insurers are issuing physical and digital certificates concurrently, but AKI intends to phase out physical certificates by mid-2020 and fully adopt digital certificates.

What do you need to do?

We are working with Insurers as to what stage they are at, but assuming that they will only issue digital certificates, your first choice is whether you require it/them to be sent to you or you would like us to deal.

Option 1 – The certificate is emailed directly to you for you to deal with.

The digital certificate shall be sent to you on email or any other electronic media. You will need to download the PDF file, print in colour, use a pair of scissors to cut out the ‘Certificate of Insurance’ copy and you will need to display the certificate on the windscreen in compliance with the Law.

You will therefore need to have a colour printer, scissors and certificate sticker. We are looking to provide all our clients with our unique JWS pocket stickers, where you slide the insurance certificate in. Hence you will not need a sticker every renewal. If you require this ‘pocket’ please let us know and we will arrange to let you have one. Alternatively, you can use the standard one that is supplied in the region, but you will require a new one each year as they are not easy to remove and not re-usable.

Option 2 – We receive the certificate and send it to you as is currently the process.

We will of course, still send the document to you so you have a record of it and, in emergencies, you can always download and print it yourself, but if you would like us to print it, cut it out and send it with our certificate holder, then we will be happy to do so.

Additional Information

Apart from saving Insurance companies the cost of printing and distribution, Police and other interested parties can scan the digital stickers and get details about the insurer, expiry date and nature of cover.

The new digital certificates issued by the Association of Kenya Insurers (AKI) will have a QR code. This bar code system will allow a police officer to scan the code and hence give the status of the insurance as either active or cancelled. This process will take about thirty seconds to two minutes. In the event of an accident with a Third Party, it can also be scanned to ascertain the other parties Insurance Company and details.

You can also verify by dialing *352# or via the AKI Vehicle Insurance Certificate App which can be downloaded from the App Store or Play Store.

AKI are currently sensitizing all traffic police to be conversant with the new method of verification to avoid harassing motorists who have already adopted the digital certificates.

In case of change of ownership, please notify us at the earliest time possible as the insurer will have to cancel the certificate to enable the new owner to take up cover and be issued with a new certificate.

For any clarification please consult us on 0709 455 000 or [email protected]