he President, Risk Surveyors Association of Nigeria (RISAN) Mr Jacob Adeosun has advocated the establishment of a National Catastrophic Fund.
He said the fund should be used to assist victims of disasters to overcome the effects of catastrophies, such as the floods that ravaged over half of the nation last year.
He said such disaster may reoccur, urging the government to establish the fund. He noted that it exists in other countries.
Adeosun, who is also Executive Director, Industrial Risk Protection Consultants (IRPC), told The Nation that though it is good for the government to compensate victims of diasater, the right thing would have been to establish the fund from where such disasters could be managed.
He said: “If it is a natural disaster, the government has a duty to empathise and sympathise and take action aimed at helping, but the real help comes from insurance.”
Adeosun, a professional risk engineer and surveyor, explained that the fund is managed by insurance professionals, like the commercial insurance fund, saying the difference is that this one is reserved only for catastrophies.
He said because there is no such fund in place, most of the losses caused by the disaster last year would not be paid for.
“If such a fund was in place and managed by insurance experts, they would have taken the appropriate steps to identify who owned what asset, and who suffered what losses with to determine what each should get to indemnify them.
‘’As it stands, several months after the flood, most of the victims have not and may never get any benefit from the huge amount set aside by the government because it is not handled by insurance experts who would have known what to do to determine who gets what.
“We have just moved into a new year and in the next few months, the rains may start coming and no one knows what may follow this time, thus the urgent need for the government to set up such a fund to mitigate losses arising from catastrophic occurrences,” he said.
The insurance expert said the function of the fund he is advocating is different from what the National EmergencyManagement Authority (NEMA) and the Red Cross are doing. These bodies give first aid. The remedy for victims can only be handled by insurance.
Adeosun urged Nigerians to embrace insurance, saying: “Insurance accepts little premium in return for a huge compensation in the event that the insured event occurs as per the contract terms. If the insured loss event does not occur, you don’t get a refund. You have had the peace of the mind, while someone else in the large pool of insured has made a claim. It may be your turn tomorrow or several years to come”.
Adeosun denied allegations that insurance firms don’t pay claims. “If they don’t, several blue chip companies that are hooked to their services would have abandoned them.Individuals also make claims. But those who receive claims will not make any noise about it. It is their entitlement. As it is in every other aspects of life, cases of failure and challenges attract more attention,” he said.
He explained that there are several reasons an insurance claim may not be paid.
When such a case arises, the National Insurance Commission, the regulatory authority on insurance, the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) and the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) will attend to cases of aggrieved customers on claims disputes, he said.
Whoever is buying insurance cover should ensure that it is properly done and claims will be paid on insured losses, Adeosun added.
