Abstract: | In Nigeria, the insurance of motor vehicles against the risk of liability for injury to, or death of, third parties caused by the driver's negligence was made compulsory by the Motor Vehicles (Third Party Insurance) Act 1945, which came into force in 1950. The author discusses various aspects of the Act, such as exemptions, who is an approved insurer, the scope of the insurance cover, persons covered by the policy, ineffective conditions in the policy, condition of notice precedent to the insurer's liability, and satisfaction of the judgment debt. The author concludes that section 10(2)(a) of the Act which provides that the insurer is not liable to pay unless notice has been given to him within seven days of the institution of proceedings gives more protection to the insurers than to the third party the Act purports to protect. It is suggested that the requirement of notice should be eliminated and that instead, the insurers should be joined in the proceedings as codefendants. Notes, ref. |