Private Commercial Buildings in Accra drilled over compulsory insurance

By Gideon Ahenkorah, GNA
Accra, March 23, GNA - A taskforce of the National Insurance Commission (NIC) is undertaking an exercise to arrest the owners of private commercial buildings who have not insured their property to cover patrons against disasters.

On Wednesday, the Taskforce arrested the representatives of General Auto Zone and Ghana Heavy Duty Truck and Spare Parts who failed to produce their certificates to the Taskforce, in Accra.

However, the owners of the buildings housing the Eco Furniture Works, City Centre Guest House and the IGS Financial Services, at Asylum Down as well as those of the Casino Gold, Yan Tai International at Osu had their certificates ready.

Similarly, compliant were the owners of the buildings housing the Robin Hood Hotel, General Auto Zone, and the Ghana Heavy Duty Truck and Spare Parts, as well as Sneda Shopping Mall, along the Spintex Road.

The exercise, which would end, on Friday, is expected to cover more than 40 companies in the Metropolis.

The companies were asked to produce up-to-date certificates on fire safety and compulsory insurance policy that seeks to protect third parties against the collapse of buildings and other perils.

Sections 183 and 184 of the Insurance Act of 2006, Act 724, tasks owners of private commercial buildings, including those under construction, to insure their buildings.

According to the Section 183 (2), anyone who fails to comply with the Act commits an offence and is tantamount to prosecution.

Mr Joseph Bentor, the Chairman of the Task Force, said the owners of the two defaulting companies would be prosecuted in accordance with the law if they failed to produce the certificates.

He explained that failure to insure commercial properties, including buildings, was a contravened the law, and it attracted 'serious sanctions.'

He said the Taskforce had earlier sent caution letters, asking the owners of selected companies including the two, to make their insurance and fire safety certificates ready before it embarked on the scrutiny.

As such, Mr Bentor said, the suspects had no excuse for not producing the certificates.

He said the Taskforce was set up in 2014 to ensure that all private commercial buildings in the country were insured in accordance with the law to help provide contingency measures ahead of eventualities and perils.

Mr Bentor stated that the Force, which included personnel from the NIC, Ghana Police Service, the Ghana National Fire Service and the media had earlier questioned 70 companies.

He also said the exercise had been carried out in the Ashanti, Western, Upper East and the Upper West Regions, and would hit other regions soon.

GNA