By Kuvee Kangueehi Windhoek The role of insurance companies in Namibia came under the spotlight on Wednesday in the National Assembly when Congress of Democrats (CoD) MP Elma Dienda motivated her motion on the role of insurance companies and whether they served the needs of the nation. Dienda said information on policies is limited and civic education is needed to enlighten people on the services or benefits they pay for. She claimed that insurance brokers are just trying to sell their products without giving the full and right information to clients. Dienda said that household insurance is one of the biggest problems people face when they claim against insurance policies. “People simply do not know what is insured and do not even know that they can claim for geysers, broken ceilings and other items despite paying for more than 25 years.” She added that because of lack of information, people end up using their own money to pay for items that are already insured. The CoD MP further charged that bond insurances are also discriminating against people facing health challenges . Contributing to the debate, DTA MP McHenry Venaani said many insurance companies have been providing a dishonourable service to their clients. Venaani said even when clients pay their premiums on time, when the insurance company is required to pay they make up excuses not to pay. “They will send you back and forth and there will always be a paper missing.” The MP was also looking for an explanation on why insurance companies do not repay a client for a new car if he loses it through theft or an accident but only pays the outstanding balance at the bank. He charged that the interests of these companies are mainly to rip off their clients. In some instances a client that has been paying for a policy for 15 years loses all the money if he fails to pay for a month. “What happens to all that money the client has been paying all the years?’ The Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Services Peter Iilonga said insurance companies never give the clients all the information and only paint a rosy picture when selling the policy. “They never tell you about some of the rules and only ambush you once you put in a claim.” Recalling a personal experience, Ilonga said he had a car insured but when he wanted to claim for a dysfunctional engine he was informed that the engine was not insured. “If you insure the car, is the engine not part of the car?” The Deputy Minister of Justice and Attorney General Utoni Nujoma shared the same sentiments as Ilonga and said insurance companies always hide the important information and it is always written in fine print. He supported that the motion be referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Economics to look into the issues and to consult with Namfisa, insurance companies, the public and other stakeholders to revisit existing legislation that enables the operation of insurances. Swapo Party backbencher Samuel Ankama said insurance consultants are smooth talkers and crooks and the community should be on guard when dealing with them. Peya Mushelenga adjourned the debate to this afternoon.