Investor’s Guide: – Limiting Effects Of Fire Outbreak On Businesses

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The motive of every entrepreneur is to make profit and limit spending and losses as much as possible.
However, businesses come with their own risks. For instance, your office could be burgled; the building could collapse; there could be fire outbreak; among others, which, if not mitigated, can lead to the death of such business.
However, of recent, the major risk reported by companies is fire outbreak, mostly caused by electricity surge. To this end, experts have suggested that business owners should ensure they have Fire insurance policy in place, to mitigate risks emanating from fire outbreak.
Not that this insurance policy will prevent your business from Fire incident, but it has the power to restore you back to the financial position you are before the incident. This implies that, your insurer will fix whatever damage the fire outbreak caused as long as its is covered under the terms and condition of such policy.

Fire Insurance
Fire insurance, a type of property insurance, covers losses and damage brought on by fire.
Although, most insurance policies already include some fire protection, it is advisable to have supplemental fire coverage to replace, repair, or rebuild your business property at a cost above the property insurance policy’s cap.

Coverage
If there’s a fire outbreak on the insured property, the policyholder can file a claim to get reimbursed for the damages caused by fire.w In some cases, the insurer could send a representative to inspect the damages, while injury sustained while on the premises may also be covered by policies.
The policy pays the insured back for damages on either an actual cash value (ACV) basis or a replacement-cost basis.
Therefore, Fire insurance covers a policyholder’s exposure to several fire loss or damage types, which include; electrical fires, such as those brought on by defective wiring and gas explosions, as well as those caused by lightning and natural disasters.

Need For Fire Insurance Policy
With incessant increase in fire incidents, especially, in factories, offices and market places, there has been continuous surge in the volume of fire claims in the last five years. Investigation revealed that insurance industry has paid over N50 billion claims on fire outbreak, an assurance that an insured business would get its compensation.
The director general of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Habib Ahmed, had tasked all government agencies, corporate organisations, private businesses, and individuals on the need to leverage insurance companies to safeguard and protect their properties and businesses as a form of risk transfer in case of fire and other unforeseen disaster incidences.
Ahmed, who stated this during ‘Awareness creation against fire disaster in Nigeria’, held in Abuja, called on government at all levels as well as Civil Society Organisations(CSO), Community Based Organisations, and other relevant stakeholders on the need to step up awareness creation on fire disaster management.
While acknowledging the importance of fire in the daily human endeavour, he, however, noted that: “when not controlled, fire can cause great destruction and injury to humans and the entire ecosystem.
“Fire outbreak has remained a major disaster in Nigeria and the world over. In the recent past, many lives and properties worth billions of Naira were lost to uncontrolled fires across the nation. In addition to loss of lives and properties, there are incalculable indirect fiscal losses due to the collapse of investments, diminished property value, and loss of business income.“
This, he said, is what insurance has come to mitigate.
Similarly, the head, bancassurance and distribution, Old Mutual Nigeria, Dumebi Okonkwo, said, to sustain and securitise one’s business, the owner must insure his equipment, motor vehicles, stock and human capital, saying, Fire insurance, burglary insurance, motor insurance, group life insurance, among other products, are insurance solutions to protect entrepreneurs and their businesses.
Stating the benefits of insurance coverage, the head, corporate sales, Old Mutual, Makanjuola Tubi, said, the capital is untouched, working capital is unmarred while business continuity is guaranteed.