{"id":5163,"date":"2022-04-24T15:08:20","date_gmt":"2022-04-24T15:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koriatlaw.com\/?p=5163"},"modified":"2022-04-24T15:08:20","modified_gmt":"2022-04-24T15:08:20","slug":"real-estate-law-enforcement-of-compulsory-insurance-for-buildings-under-construction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koriatlaw.com\/2026\/2022\/04\/24\/real-estate-law-enforcement-of-compulsory-insurance-for-buildings-under-construction\/","title":{"rendered":"REAL ESTATE LAW: ENFORCEMENT OF COMPULSORY INSURANCE FOR BUILDINGS UNDER CONSTRUCTION"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rate of the incessant collapse of buildings in Nigeria underscores\nthe need for the government to implement the enforcement of compulsory\ninsurance for building under construction in Nigeria. The collapse of the 21\nStorey building on Gerard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos on 1st November 2021 and another\nbuilding collapse in Badagry soon thereafter, both of which recorded many\ncasualties necessitated the Lagos State Government through the Lagos State Building\nControl Agency, the Lagos State Safety Commission and the Nigerian\nInsurers Association (\u201cNIA\u201d) to commence engagement with stakeholders on the\nenforcement of compulsory insurance of buildings under construction in Lagos\nState.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What building must be insured?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a mandatory requirement by Section 64 of the Insurance Act, for\nall buildings of more than two (2) floors under construction to be\ninsured. This has become necessary because most public buildings in Nigeria are\nnot insured thereby leading to loss of lives and property without remedy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, by Section 48 (1) and (2) of the Lagos State Urban and Regional\nPlanning and Development Law, 2010, a developer or owner of a building under\nconstruction (involving a structure of more than two (2) floors) shall at the\ntime of submitting his application to commence building works to the Lagos\nState Building Control Agency also submit a General Contractors All Risk\nInsurance Policy Certificate evidencing insurance of the building. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where necessary, the owner or occupier of the building shall within\nthirty (30) days of service of demand notice under Section 36 of the Lagos\nState Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law, produce the Certificate\nof Insurance to the Lagos State Building Control Agency for verification and on\nan annual basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the\nrequirements for insuring a public building in Nigeria?<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The requirements to be provided for the Insurer to insure the building\ninclude the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

i           Name of\nthe client;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ii          Description of\nthe building (e.g. how many floors does the building have?);<\/p>\n\n\n\n

iii         Location of the\nbuilding;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

iv         Limit of Indemnity\npayable per<\/em> occurrence;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

v          Aggregate limit\nof indemnity annually;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

vi         Use of the building\n(whether a shopping mall, warehouse, factory, residential <\/p>\n\n\n\n

premises, etc.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who are those\nlikely to be protected by the insurance of public buildings?<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

i. Site Workers; <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ii. Members of the Public;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

iii. Owners of the insured building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whose obligation is\nit to insure a public building?<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\ni           Owner and \/or\ncontractor of a building under construction; and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ii          Sub\nConstructors, Agents, Servants and Consultants of the Contractor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who will be the\nbeneficiaries of the policy?<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\ni. Survivors of the site worker or member of the public who dies in a collapsed\nconstruction work, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ii. Site Worker or Member of the public who becomes injured in a\ncollapsed construction work, and <\/p>\n\n\n\n

iii. Any third-party property who suffers damage from a building\ncollapse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the cost of\ninsuring a public building?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cost of insuring a public building is negotiable between insurance\ncompany and the owner of the building. The amount to pay premium will depend on\nthe value, location and type of building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the consequence for failure\nto insure a <\/em><\/strong>public<\/em><\/strong> building?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lagos State Building Control Agency is empowered to enter the construction site to compel compliance under Section 39, seal off any building which contravenes the requirements of the law under Section 40, demolish the property under Section 41 as well as recover the cost of demolition from the developer under Section 42 and to prosecute any real estate firm or developer in charge of the construction for any offences stated in Section 43. There are jail terms and fines ranging from N250,000 to N500,000 stipulated by law as penalty for persons convicted under the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law, 2010.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Introduction The rate of the incessant collapse of buildings in Nigeria underscores the need for the government to implement the enforcement of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[272,158,273],"class_list":["post-5163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-publications","tag-property-development","tag-property-management-company","tag-real-estate-law"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koriatlaw.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koriatlaw.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koriatlaw.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koriatlaw.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koriatlaw.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koriatlaw.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5163\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koriatlaw.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koriatlaw.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koriatlaw.com\/2026\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}