• By Raymond Momanyi

When Private Car Insurance Meets Fare-Paying Passengers — What Really Happens in Kenya?

On a cool Tuesday evening, when Nairobi is humming with that after-work chaos — honking matatus, tired faces, endless traffic — Cynthia leaves her banking job in the CBD and walks to her parking spot near a matatu stage. 

For months, she’s been doing this side hustle.
 She owns a Toyota Wish.
 She picks 3 passengers.
 She drops them along Thika Road.
 She earns something small.
 Life moves on. 

But on this Tuesday, life shifts its weight. 

She picks her passengers like always — not friends, not colleagues — actual fare-paying strangers brought to her by a makanga. They pay via M-Pesa before she joins the highway.
Everything feels normal… until it isn’t. 

Just before Ruiru, Cynthia hits a slowing matatu from behind. The impact is sharp, violent, unforgiving. 

• Her Wish is wrecked.
• A matatu has body damage.
• Her passengers — the three she picked — are seriously injured.
• She’s confused, shaken, injured.
• Traffic builds.
• Police arrive.
• Ambulance comes.
• Both cars end up at Ruiru Police Station.
• Cynthia ends up in a hospital bed staring at the ceiling.

And reality hits harder than the crash.
 
She had private comprehensive insurance, like most of us.
She even bought a Personal Accident cover.
Her employer gave her GPA and medical.
 
But the question that burns like fire is this:
 

What happens to her passengers?
Will her insurance pay for them?
Is she in legal trouble?

Let’s unpack it — slowly, honestly, and with full Kenyan clarity.
  

1. Cynthia Broke an Insurance Rule — and It’s a Big One

Private motor insurance in Kenya is VERY clear:
 
❌ You cannot carry fare-paying passengers.
❌ You cannot operate as an unlicensed taxi or PSV.
❌ You cannot receive money in exchange for transport.

When you do, you automatically violate the terms of your policy.

Her insurer insured the Wish as a private vehicle — not a taxi, not a PSV, not a commercial vehicle.
 
So legally and contractually: 

Her insurer is not obliged to pay for injuries sustained by fare-paying passengers. They were unauthorized passengers.

 
Painful truth? Yes.
But it’s the truth. 
 

2. What Happens to Cynthia’s Own Injuries?

This is where her earlier decisions save her life:
✔ She has Personal Accident (PA) cover.
✔ She has GPA from her employer.
✔ She has medical insurance.
 
So HER medical bills will be sorted — because PA, GPA, or medical insurance pays regardless of who is at fault.
 
That was a smart move on her part.
A lot of Kenyans don’t have PA.
She would have been stuck with huge hospital bills. 
 

3. What Happens to the Three Passengers?

Now this is where the road gets rough.
 
Because the passengers were fare-paying, they are NOT considered legitimate passengers in a private insurance policy.
 

Will the insurer pay for them?

In most cases: No — not under private comprehensive cover.
 

So what next for them?

i. They can sue Cynthia personally
 
Passengers can claim: 

• Medical expenses
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of income
• Future medical care

And since Cynthia was at fault (rear-end collision), she bears legal liability.
 
Without PSV insurance, she faces:
 💸 Lawsuits
 💸 Compensation demands
 💸 Settlement obligations
 
Depending on severity, this can run into hundreds of thousands or millions.
 

4. What Happens to the Matatu?

Good news:
Even though Cynthia violated the policy with passengers, the insurer still has an obligation to compensate third-party property damage.
 
So: 
✔ The insurer will pay for the matatu’s rear lights, bumper, and body repair - if the matatu owner files a third-party claim.
✔ Cynthia may be sued personally by the matatu owner or her insurer
 
But the matatu owner will be paid. 
 

5. Will Cynthia’s Comprehensive Claim Be Paid?

Here’s the unfiltered reality: 

Her own car repairs might be declined.

 
Why?
 
Because she misused the vehicle.
She converted a private-use car into a PSV without a license, permit, or correct insurance class.
 
Private comprehensive cover only applies when the vehicle is used as declared.
 
If it is misused, the insurer can: 
❌ Decline own-damage claim
❌ Cancel the policy
❌ Refuse to renew
❌ Recover costs paid to third parties
 
It’s tough, but it’s the honest industry position.
  

6. What Legal Liabilities Does Cynthia Face?

Breaking it down like a real Nairobi lawyer would: 

a) Operating an unlicensed PSV

 This is an offence under NTSA regulations. 

b) Carrying unauthorized passengers

 Another offence under the Traffic Act. 

c) Causing injury due to negligence

 Civil liability — she can be sued. 

d) Misrepresentation to her insurer

Insurance Fraud = Big trouble.
 
None of this is fun.
None of it is pretty.
But it’s real.
  

7. So What Should Cynthia (And All of Us) Learn From This?

1: Your car class matters.

 Private, Commercial, PSV — they’re not interchangeable. 

2: Carrying passengers for money instantly changes your risk class.

And invalidates your cover. 

3: Personal Accident cover is a life-saver.

Cynthia’s own medical bills will be sorted. 

4: Illegal side hustles rarely end well.

The money seems harmless… until something happens. 

5: Always ask before you act — insurers don’t tolerate misrepresentation.

8. What Should Cynthia Do Now? A Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Get a police abstract
Necessary for any insurance claim or legal defence.

Step 2: Notify her insurance intermediary immediately
Even if the claim will be declined, she must report within 48 hours.

Step 3: Use her PA/GPA for her own injuries
That’s her first financial shield.

Step 4: Contact a lawyer
Because the passenger claims will come.

Step 5: Engage the insurer for third-party property damage processing
Matatu repairs must proceed.

Step 6: Prepare for negotiations with injured passengers
Most cases settle out of court.

Step 7: Re-evaluate her insurance class with a professional intermediary
This is where Imana and MyKava step in.
 

9. How Imana & MyKava Could Have Helped Cynthia Avoid This

At Imana Insurance Agency and MyKava Online Insurance Shop, we always ask: 

• How do you use your car?
• Do you carry passengers (even casually)?
• Do you do ride-hailing?
• Do you hire it out?
• Do you carry staff?
• Do you transport goods?

One conversation could have saved Cynthia this entire nightmare.
 
If she was carrying passengers regularly, we would have recommended:
✔ PSV Chauffer Cover
 ✔ Ride-hailing Cover
 ✔ Passenger Liability Add-on
 ✔ Personal Accident (which she fortunately had)
 ✔ Third-Party Liability Extension
 ✔ Even Employer’s Liability if needed
 
All available from trusted insurers in Kenya.
 
Compare motor insurance today:
 👉 https://imana.co.ke/insurance/motor-insurance
👉 https://mykava.co.ke

For emergencies, accident guidance, claims help, or online quotes:
👉 https://imana.co.ke/claims-request
👉 https://imana.co.ke/contact-us
 

10. Find our Services on Google  

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• Motor vehicle insurance classes Kenya
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• Car insurance for Toyota Wish Kenya

Insurance Wisdom

Cynthia didn’t wake up plotting to break the law.
She’s just like many Nairobi hustlers trying to stretch their salary.
 
But life doesn’t care about your side income.
Insurance doesn’t bend because you “meant well.”
Accidents don’t ask if you’re ready.
 
And when things go wrong, only the truth stands: 

Insurance pays according to what you told them — not what you actually do.

If you’re reading this and thinking, “Aiyaa, sometimes I also pick passengers,”…
maybe today is the day to rethink it.
 
Or at least talk to people who will tell you the truth.
 
Imana.
MyKava.
Your insurance people.
 
When life swerves, we help you steady the wheel.