Nigerian Insurance Policies for Employees
Insurance coverage is a priceless
avenue to securing a business against loss, whether with respect to
the actual business performance itself or damage or loss to the
company’s assets or tools. The question of human capital also being
insured comes into the fore since a company’s staff is in a manner
of speaking, it’s most valuable asset. It is very common in today’s
corporate world to see staff provided different types of insurance
by their employer.
IS A BUSINESS REQUIRED BY LAW
TO PROVIDE VARIOUS TYPES OF INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR IT’S
STAFF?
While it is common for companies
to provide certain kinds or types of "employee benefits"
coverage for workers such as general health, dental, and similar
coverage, the law generally does not require a business to do so
for all, but specifies a few that with the enactment of some
relevant acts have become mandatory. These include:
Workmen’s
Compensation
In line with The Workmen’s
Compensation Decree of 1987 all businesses must provide
Workers' Compensation coverage for the benefit of their
employees who may be injured or incapacitated while on the job.
This is a requirement of the law in Nigeria. This requirement is
satisfied by purchasing Workers' Compensation insurance, which
is available from private insurance companies that are licensed by
the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM). This law applies
compensation to four types of mishap viz:
-
Permanent partial incapacity -
Permanent total incapacity -
Temporary incapacity -
Fatal accidents, where death results
It is worthy of note that the law
creates exceptions to this general rule in cases where compensation
cannot be claimed by the affected worker.
The National Health Insurance
Scheme Act
This act requires that an
employer who has a minimum of 10 (ten employees) must register them
to contribute to the scheme. Though this scheme is not directly
linked to safeguarding the business from economic liability, it is
a policy prescribed by the government and must be followed by all
employers that it applies to.
Pensions Reform Act of
2003
Section 9 )3) of this law
requires every employer to maintain a Life Insurance Policy in
favour of an employee for a minimum of 3 times the annual total
emolument or pay of the employee.
With regard to other insurance
coverage such as dental, general health and similar types, most
businesses provide these and similar benefits to attract and retain
good employees and as an additional form of compensation. However,
businesses that employ unionized workers must provide whatever
benefits are required by the terms of their union contracts, and it
also may be necessary to provide certain types of employee benefits
as a condition of doing business with or for certain governmental
entities or agencies.
Benefits of Employee
Insurance
The effect of such on a worker’s
morale cannot be overemphasized. It is in truth an excellent form
of motivation for a line of work that may or may not be high-risk.
Oil companies are known to provide wonderful incentives to their
field staff, especially those who are engaged in work on oil rigs
and related assignments including pipeline maintenance. As these
benefits are continually being added, the provision of certain
types of insurance for employees may, in addition to an attractive
salary may be one of the most important factors considered by
would-be employees in choosing which job offer to
accept.
Employee insurance policies can be bought in
favour of employees from any Insurance company licensed to do so by
the National Insurance Commission.
0 Response to "Nigerian Insurance Policies for Employees "
Post a Comment