Building Collapse: Senate Makes Case For Victims As Compulsory Insurance Debate Scales Second Reading

The rising cases of collapsed building in the country have necessitated the Insurance Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

The Insurance Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021, citing compulsory insurance of buildings under construction which was sponsored by Senator Ibikunle Amosun has scaled second reading on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday.

The bill when passed by the National Assembly and assented into law by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), would, among others, also makes it mandatory for victims of building collapse to be compensated by insurance companies.

Amosun said, “The need for the amendment of this Bill was necessitated by the prevalence of collapsed buildings in many Nigerian cities which has led to 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.”

He recalled that the collapse of a three-storey residential/school building on Massey street, Ita Faaji area of Lagos Island on March 2019, resulted in the loss of 20 lives with 43 injured.

He said another one under construction located at No 9 Ezenwa Street, Onitsha, left no fewer than six persons dead.

He added that the Lekki building collapse which occurred on Tuesday, March 2016, resulted in the killing of no fewer than 34 persons and injured several others.

He also said that a six-storey Guest House belonging to a church in the Ikotun area of Lagos state on September 2014 collapsed and trapped about 300 people out of which over 100 were said to have lost their lives.

He said the Abu Naima primary and secondary school, Bukuru, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State in September 2013, resulted in the death of 10 pupils mostly below 10 years old.

He said, “These cases and several others, too numerous to mention, are considered as some of the worst incidences of collapsed building in Nigeria, in recent times.

“The need to checkmate the rising cases 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.

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, referred the bill after it scaled second reading to the Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions for further legislative work.

Source: PUNCH