Brokers want wider coverage for compulsory building insurance
NIGERIAN INSUR ANCE BROKERS want to see all levels of government harken to their outcries for insurance to be made compulsory for all buildings in the country.
The outcries of the brokers were echoed by Rotimi Edu, president, the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), who said that the move has become necessary because of incessant building collapses in the country.
According to him, currently, the law on compulsory insurance for buildings made such cover mandatory only for buildings that have at least two storeys. However, any building can collapse including bungalows, he noted.
Nigeria’s Insurance Act 2003, requires the owner or occupier of a public building to be insured against liability for loss or damage to property or death or bodily injury caused by collapse, fire, earthquake, storm or flood. Public building is defined by the Act as one to which members of the public have access to for educational, recreational, medical and commercial purposes.
According to the Act, for buildings under construction, an owner or contractor of such a building which has more than two floors must take out an insurance policy to cover liability against construction risks that may result in death, bodily injury or property damage to workers on-site or members of the public.
The NCRIB president said progress has been made on compliance with the compulsory builders’ insurance requirement as owners of buildings under construction have been buying insurance cover.
But Edu noted that some building owners, who have affiliation with parent bodies abroad, often claim they insure their buildings in Nigeria through their captive firms abroad.