The National Insurance Commission (NIC) will soon resume the enforcement exercise on compulsory insurance for all commercial buildings against fire and allied perils.

According to Deputy Commissioner, Michael Kofi Andoh, even though the exercise of clamping down on uninsured private commercial properties have improved compliance over the past years, there still are some recalcitrant property owners out there flouting the directive, hence the need for the comeback.

Speaking to Joy Business at an event where the NIC made a donation of ¢300,000 to the National Fire Service towards the construction of a fire laboratory aimed at speeding up the processes of assessing the cause of fire incidents in the country, Mr. Andoh said his outfit is bent on ensuring that sanity prevails in the industry.

 The lab unit when completed will assist the service to use scientific methods to determine the origin and clear cause of fire incidents for public safety.

Already the GNFS has been challenged with incessant fire outbreaks occurring in parts of the country.

But the on-going efforts to build a forensic laboratory at the GNFS Headquarters, funded by the NIC is the first of its kind since the Service was first established in 1963.

When completed, the GNFS will use scientific methods to determine the clear causes of fire.

Deputy Chief Fire Officer, Julian Kunnor who received the cheque of ¢300,000 for the completion of the laboratory said:

"With the establishment of a forensic laboratory, effective scientific methods will be used to identify the cause of incidence including fire which will be merely classified as accidental and the true cause gone unnoticed"

"We're confident that with the enhanced scientific method of investigation, sub-standard products will be recalled from the markets and many more fires that could have been prevented"

The Deputy Commissioner of the NIC on his part said the establishment of the forensic laboratory will assist the Commission to price fire risks properly.

"For us as Insurers, it will help us price the fire risks properly and also help us in our claims administration. Some people who have made fire claims before will tell you that sometimes the claims take long in coming and that is because they need to identify what caused the fire and a I believe a laboratory like this will make it easier and faster for us to do this."

"This collaboration between the NIC and the GNFS is going to continue hopefully until the laboratory is completed"

The presentation of the cheque for ¢300,000 follows an initial ¢500,000 presented by the NIC when the construction of the laboratory first started.