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Nine private commercial buildings in Accra, were on Wednesday drilled over compulsory insurance by the National Task Force of the National Insurance Commission (NIC). The buildings located in Asylum Down, Osu and Spintex Road, housed Eco Furniture Works, City Centre Guest House, IGS Financial Services, Casino Gold, Yan Tai International and Robin Hood Hotel respectively. Other Companies probed at Spintex Road were General Auto Zone, Ghana Heavy Duty Truck and Spare Parts as well as Sneda Shopping Mall.
The companies were asked to produce up-to-date certificates on fire safety and compulsory insurance policy that sought to protect third parties against collapse of buildings and other allied perils. The compulsory insurance for commercial buildings is captured under the Sections 183 and 184 of the Insurance Act of 2006, Act 724 which task 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. Meanwhile, out of the nine companies, only two failed to furnish the National Task Force with valid Certificates during an exercise carried out by the Task Force to fish out those who failed to insure their commercial buildings.
General Auto Zone and Ghana Heavy Duty Truck and Spare Parts failed to produce the certificates and were arrested accordingly. Mr Joseph Bentor, the Chairman of the Task Force, said the owners of the two companies would be dragged to court and prosecuted in accordance with the law if they fail to produce the certificates.
He explained that failure to insure commercial properties including buildings was a contravention to the law which attracted “serious sanctions.” He disclosed that the Task Force had earlier sent caution letters, asking the owners of some 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 and deserved the arrest.
He said the Task Force was set up in 2014 to ensure that all private commercial buildings in the country were insured in accordance with the Act 724 of the Insurance Act 2006, 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 drilled seventy companies. He also said the exercise had been carried out in Ashanti, Western, Upper East and the Upper West Regions, and would hit other regions soon.
The exercise which would end on Friday was expected to cover more than forty companies in the Metropolis.
