By Tony Edike
ENUGU— Churches and mosques in Nigeria may soon be required to produce evidence of having their premises and property insured in the wake of spate of attacks by the Boko Haram sect.

An insurance consultant to the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, Mr. Yemi Soladoye made this known in Enugu during the opening ceremony of a five-day training programme organised by NAICOM for men of the Federal Road Safety Commission, Nigeria Police F7ce and Fire Service on Motor Third Party Insurance, Occupier Liability Insurance, Builders Liability Insurance, Group Life Insurance and Healthcare Professional Indemnity Insurance.

Soladoye stated that even though the religious organisations pray for safety and protection of their members, it is mandatory for them to get Occupier Liability Insurance because places of worship are no longer safe in the country.

He said that there was no better time to enforce compulsory insurance in the country than now, stressing that there was need to protect people who are using public places for business and leisure, adding that there are many areas that Nigerians can be injured, die  or be disabled when using public building, facilities and places of worship, therefore the compulsory insurance must be enforced.

According to him, Nigerian insurance industry is lagging behind globally, explaining that while the total insurance premium in the country is about N1.3 billion, a single insurance company in America has premium of more than 250 billion dollars.

He disclosed that more than 95 per cent of vehicles plying Nigerian roads are using fake insurance policies, adding that the essence of the training which has the theme: The Training and Enforcement of Compulsory Insurance Product in Nigeria, is to help the police and Road Safety identify fake insurance policies.

Soladoye disclosed that a certain percentage of Fire Insurance premium is supposed to go to the Fire Service to buy equipment and recalled that the Fire Service originally was part of the Insurance industry but the British Government removed it and Nigeria with its British heritage followed suit.

In his remarks, Director Research, Statistics and ICT in NAICOM Alhaji Adamu Balanti said there was no way Nigeria could develop if the insurance sector was not developed.

Balanti explained that besides motor insurance, there were other insurance policies that were made compulsory by law because it was meant to protect the third party. He declared the commission’s readiness to enforce these policies because “The essence of government is to protect the governed from harm and loss.”