Compulsory public building insurance to be enforced

The National Insurance Commission, (NAICOM), the Federal Fire Service of Nigeria (FFSN), and the National Insurers Association (NIA) have entered into a partnership that will see to the implementation of the compulsory insurance of public buildings across the country.

Also to be implemented is the Insurance Act which was enacted in 2003 and also prescribes a certain percent of the monies for fire insurance policies be remitted to the service for equipping their facilities for prompt response in the event of a fire.

Speaking in Abuja when the stakeholders met as part of collaborative efforts to enforce compulsory building insurance in the country, the Commissioner for Insurance and CEO National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) Alhaji Mohammed Kari, said the nonimplementation of the Act had given rise to issues where funds that were to be generated to take care of emergencies had not been accumulated.

“Section 65 (4) of the Insurance Act 2003 provides that the insurance companies, through the regulator would support the activities of the fire service by contributing part of its insurance premium to the fire directors. And since the coming of the law in 2003, we have not been around and fully implement that section of the law.

“In consultation with the industry and Federal Fire Service, we have been able to agree on the way forward. We have resolved to start afresh from this year 2017 to ensure that insurance companies clarify their returns vis a vis the premium incomes they make from the insurances of public buildings for the purposes of protection against public liability”, he stressed.

In his speech, Engr. Anebi Garba Joseph, the Controller- General of Federal Fire Service expressed concern over lack of insurance cover for most of the public buildings in the country saying, in the initiative, it would be ensured that public buildings are properly insured and certified.