NIC grabs commercial property owners

A five-member task force from the National Insurance Commission (NIC) yesterday arrested some owners of commercial property in Tema, who allegedly failed to insure their landed property.

During the operation, which commenced around 11:00am, owners, managers and caretakers of the Pee Tay Building, Ampenebea House, Ever Pure Company Limited – all situated near the main Tema Roundabout and Cardinal Petroleum- were detained at Tema Community 8 Police Station.

Owners of other commercial property namely Link Afrique Company Limited, Gellog Limited, located in the heart of the heavy industrial area of the port city, were also apprehended by the Taskforce but were asked to report to the Police Headquarters in Accra on Monday due to time constraint.

The exercise was aimed at ensuring compliance with Sections 183 and 184 of the National Insurance Law (Act 724, 2006) on Compulsory Insurance for privately-owned commercial buildings – both completed and under construction, which are used by members of the public for transaction of business, recreation, among others.

The NIC, late last year, embarked on a similar exercise in Accra, which led to the arrest of the Osu Branch Manager of Lara Mart Shopping Center, Santhosh Kumar and Yvonne Song, a Chinese national and one of the operators of Chateau Towers, also located at Osu.

The special task force comprised personnel of the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), NIC and Ghana Insurance Association (GIA).

Speaking to journalists during the exercise, Joseph Bentor, Chairman of the National Taskforce on Compulsory Insurance, said the exercise was aimed at protecting users and third parties against liabilities.

He indicated that NIC has over the years educated property owners about the need to insure their property, but they had failed to adhere to that directive.

Mr. Bentor appealed to members of the business community to insure their property.