NAICOM, Federal Fire Service enforce compulsory public building insurance

Zainab Iwayemi

National Insurance Commission, NAICOM alongside the Federal Fire Service has resolved to commence the enforcement of compulsory public building liability insurance in earnest across the country. This was reached at a meeting between both agencies at the NAICOM Head office in Abuja on Wednesday.

This came a month after the senate sought compulsory insurance and compensation for victims who suffer building collapse. Senator Ibikunle Amosun who sponsored the bill pointed out the need to pay attention to the huge lives and properties lost to building collapse.

Lamented on the increasing building collapse across the country, the senator said, “The need for the amendment of this bill was necessitated by the prevalence of collapsed buildings in many Nigerian cities which led to the unquantifiable loss of lives and property as well as permanent disability.

“There has been an increase in the cases of collapsed buildings in the country, most especially in the last 10 years.”

Recalling instances of the collapsed building across the country, the senator noted that the several cases are considered as some of the worst incidences of collapsed building in Nigeria, in recent times, hence calling for the need to checkmate the rising cases that prompted the urgent need to amend the Insurance Act.

“This bill is proposed to ensure compliance with the compulsory insurance of public buildings and buildings under construction by relevant stakeholders in Nigeria.

“This is to address the limitations of the current law particularly in respect of inadequate penalty against any persons, group of persons, or entity liable for building collapse and non-existing provision on the minimum sum to be insured for a building under construction,” He said.

Expectedly, the novel development will provide security as a remedy for victims of collapsed building, as well as provide adequate penalty provisions in line with the current socio-economic realities for contravention of the law whilst also filling the gap in the failure to provide for limit of liability in respect of the third party liability in compulsory insurance of public buildings under construction whilst also restoring the glory of the insurance industry which is characterized by gaps in addressing the multiple risks in the construction industry.