UIC promotes engineering insurance in Yemen
The year 2009 marks the year of engineering insurance in Yemen. It is hoped that through education, the public and businesses alike will become more aware of the importance of insurance as a means of protecting companies and individuals against damages and losses caused by natural disasters, and other accidents during construction projects.
There are over 500 projects currently on hold in Yemen due to problems, including the absence of engineering insurance said Ahmed al-Asbahi, head of the Yemeni Construction Association.
The director of the United Insurance Company, Tareq Abdulwase’e, cited the difficulties of promoting insurance in Yemen, saying, “Un-adapted laws and lack of awareness make it even harder to pronote insurance in the Yemeni business market.”
Insuring projects provides added security, in the event of a natural disaster or accident, the insurance company will repair or replace damaged machines and pay for the disposal of damaged parts. Insurance can also cover cases of misuse, theft, and financial losses incurred due to mechanical breakdown.
There is always a compulsory excess that the customer must bare in case of damage or losses incurred due to carelessness or cheating, but most customers agree the acceptance of the excess is little compared to the importance of insuring.
“The conditions of the engineering insurance are suitable,” said Mesar Sallab, a contractor. “It is very important to insure.”
Insurance is not just limited to objects though and during a seminar entitled “Towards Safe Projects” that took place last week, participants were encouraged to take out occupational hazard insurance to protect their employees, both in construction and elsewhere.
Such insurance seeks to protect the individual whilst at work, during his travel to work and on work-related assignments outside his/her normal workplace. Cover can be extended as well to include health insurance options and travel insurance. If an employee is injured at work the insurance company will compensate the individual accordingly. In the unfortunate event of death the deceased family would receive YR 1.6 million according to Yemeni law.
Such insurance seeks to protect a company or an individual’s major assets, his tools and his workforce. The recent seminar sought to educate participants about the importance of insurance, but it also attracted calls from organizations such as the Yemen Contractors Association for a reduction in premiums to encourage companies to adopt insurance cover. Al-Asbahi the association head declared “We urge insurance companies to decrease insurance rates to encourage the beneficiaries to insure their projects”.
Nevertheless the popularity of insurance seems to be on the rise, and Fawzi Mujahid, representative of the Supreme Committee for Bids and Auctions, responsible for surveying government-employed contractors, said engineering insurance was at the centre of the committee’s plan to protect governmental and contractors’ properties.
