“Ghana’s Mandatory Housing Insurance – Is the Law Being Enforced?”

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Interview : The Deputy Commissioner/Legal Director of National Insurance Commission PE: Do you think owners of commercial building are aware of the existence of an insurance mandatory law in Ghana? DC: The Insurance Act, 2006 (Act 724), was passed in December 2006. By law, citizens are expected to be aware of the provisions of the Act, including Section 183 and 184 of the Insurance Act which make the Insurance of Commercial Buildings, compulsory. However, information about the Compulsory Insurance of Commercial Buildings is not as widespread as expected. PE: Are the insurance companies in Ghana doing enough to educate the public on the benefits of insuring their homes? DC: Individual Insurance companies are educating the Public on the compulsory insurance of Commercial Buildings and the benefit thereof. The NIC on its Regional Public Education also carries out Public Education on compulsory Insurance of Commercial Buildings. The latest Public Forum was held in Kpando and Hohoe. During the last “Financial Literacy Week Programme” held in September, 2009, the Insurance Industry focused its Public Education among other things, on Compulsory Insurance of Commercial Buildings. PE: In your own view, what do you think could be done by the government and stakeholders to ensure that The Mandatory Law on Building Insurance is not just a written statement but a law duly enforced? DC: Government and Stakeholders should carry out sustained Publicity and Public Education. Sanctions for infringement should be enforced and publicised. Interview: Mr. A. B. Gaisie, Director (research, development and monitoring)Ghana Fire Service PE: Q1 Do you think owners of commercial building are aware of the existence of an insurance mandatory law in Ghana? Q2 Are the insurance companies in Ghana doing enough to educate the public on the benefits of insuring their homes? Q3 In your own view, what do you think could be done by the government and stakeholders to ensure that The Mandatory Law on Building Insurance is not just a written statement but a law duly enforced? Mr. Gaisie: The increase and upsurge of fire outbreaks and other types of disasters i.e. accidents, floods in recent times could be attributed to the inability of relevant stakeholders to embark on vigorous sensitisation campaign in the area of disaster preparedness, risk assessment, potential socio-economic and investment threats. All these unfortunate situations may have been avoided if the basic safety requirement and precautionary measures were to be enforced holistically by all relevant agencies. Ensuring enforcement of insurance laws in Ghana requires the collective and multi-sectoral involvement and participation of institutions which are directly connected with the provision of services to the various segments of social development in the country. It is however, significant to emphasise the fact that in spite of efforts by insurance companies to educate the public on the benefits of their respective schemes, not much has been done or achieved due to the inability of respective corporate institutions to, a) conduct proper risk assessment b) identify hazards c) ensure fire safety audit/compliance RECOMMENDED MEASURES The insurance companies must consider and recognise the urgent need to identify existing legal mandate of stakeholders and possibly incorporate these policies into the overall administration of Housing Insurance policies in Ghana. A multi-sectoral task force should be established to ensure the enforcement of rules, regulations, policies and laws covering building construction and disaster risk reduction in the country. This, however, may require the involvement and professional support of the Ghana Institute of Architects, Ghana Institute of Surveyors etc. Awareness creation and media involvement must be intensified and pursued to ensure the overall sensitisation of the public on the advantages and benefits of mandatory housing insurance. The Ghana National Fire Service is by law mandated to ensure the safety of homes, offices, commercial centres, etc through the Legislative Instrument (LI 1724) Fire Precaution (premises) Regulation 2003. It is therefore incumbent on the part of existing insurance companies to take advantage of this legal authority and ensure the enforcement and implementation of all relevant policies regarding housing insurance. The decentralised institutions and local government structures in the various Assemblies should be involved in the risk assessment and public educational programme. Finally, it is worth considering the fact that ensuring proper and mandatory enforcement of Housing Insurance Policy in Ghana requires critical study and overview of the architectural designs and safety requirements of the building construction industry in Ghana. Not much may be achieved if the collective networking approach and enforcement strategies of various stakeholders are not implemented. Conducted By Christopher Eduful Arthur