Are you a passenger on okada, commercial bus, airplane, ship or other means of transportation? Are you a worker or vulnerable member of the public at a building construction site? Are you a regular visitor to a completed building used as business premises including government offices? Are you an employee of an organisation that employs more than 14 staff?

You should know that if you or your relation sustains injury, death or property loss in or around any of the above mentioned premises or means   of   transportation, you   have a right to compensation under the compulsory insurance cover which is supposed to be put in place by the owner of the vehicle whether okada, commercial bus, airplane, ship or other means of transportation; the contractor of a building construction site; the owner/occupier of the premises of a completed building used as business premises including government offices; your employer being an employee of an organisation that employs more than 14 staff.

Compulsory insurance entails that you will still be compensated even if you do not have any insurance cover of your own and notwithstanding the fact that the scope of insurance cover of the vehicle that caused the injury or damage is third party only.

You can also help your relations and loved ones who fall victim of any of the cases mentioned to pursue their compensation.

Members of the public also have rights

Compensation will also be paid to you as a member of the public for loss or damage to your properties or bodily injury, or death by a liable motor vehicle, aeroplane or ship, or at a building construction site. In case of completed buildings, cover is provided for you as a member of the public if you sustained bodily injury, death or property loss as a result of fire, flood, storm, earthquake or collapse of the building.

What you need to do to secure compensation

Be sure that there is genuine compulsory insurance cover on the motor vehicle/okada that you board or the building where you work or transact business.

Indemnity insurance

For the employees of both private and public sector organisations and the patients of NHIS registered hospitals, be sure that there is in place, group life and medical professional indemnity insurance respectively.

Then, provide details of the vehicle/building/company/hospital through which the loss or injury occurred; provide details of the accident/incident that caused the injury, death or property loss forwarded to Insurance Consumers Association of Nigeria, INSCAN directly or through the FRSC, Fire Brigade, Police or LASTMA; then report to the insurance company that granted the cover (if any).

Your authority

Your right to compensation as a passenger in a motor vehicle, a carpenter, bricklayer, electrician or anybody at or in the neighbourhood of a building under construction, a business client in a completed building, a staff of a private or public organisation or a NHIS hospital patient are as indicated under the following laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Insurance business

For hospital patients – Section 45 of the NHIS Act 1999; for construction site workers – Section 64 of the Insurance Act 2003; for business clients – Section 65 of the Insurance Act 2003; for motor vehicle passenger – Section 68 of the Insurance Act 2003; and for employees – Section 4(5) of the Pension Reform Act 2014.

it is worthy of note that the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) – the agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria saddled with the responsibility for the administration and supervision of insurance business in Nigeria – has approved the appropriate insurance cover for all the insurance companies in Nigeria to meet the requirements of the laws stated above.

Therefore, as a passenger in a commercial vehicle, as a bricklayer, carpenter, or neighbour on a construction site, customer, employee of a private or public sector organisation, or patient in a hospital, you should demand for evidence of genuine third party motor insurance from the driver, builder’s liability insurance from the contractor, occupiers liability insurance from the business owner, group life insurance from your employer or medical professional liability insurance from the NHIS hospital where you receive treatment.

Level of compensation

The amount of compensation available to you is in some cases limited by law and in other cases unlimited. Where the benefit is unlimited, your level of compensation will be the amount agreed between you and the insurer of the vehicle, the contractor, the house, the company or the hospital or as may be awarded by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Compulsory insurance cover may be your only saving grace in the event of disability, death or property loss for you or your family member or to prevent a huge judgment debt on your company.