Morocco considers disaster insurance

A few weeks after massive floods in Morocco, victims and parliamentarians raised the issues of compensation and prevention.

By Siham Ali for Magharebia in Casablanca – 17/12/10

Moroccan officials have yet to calculate the scope of the damage caused by last month's severe rains, which especially affected the country's commercial hub of Casablanca.

While some demanded that compensation be paid to the flood victims, others felt that the most adequate measure would be an effective strategy to prevent a tragedy of this kind from happening again.

The November floods claimed at least 32 lives in different parts of Morocco, disrupted transportation, cut off electricity in entire districts and submerged a number of houses and vehicles.

MP Fatima Moustaghfir was among those hit by the deluge.

"The basement of my house was completely wrecked by the sewage water. It reached a height of two meters. All of my electrical appliances, including two televisions, the fridge and the washing machine, were damaged," she said.

"I just hope we won't have to experience this kind of damage again in the future," the parliamentarian added.

According to Moustaghfir, there can be no talk of compensation yet, because the procedure is complex.

"An assessment of the damage needs to be made. When you're submerged in water, you don't think about that. In addition, an inquiry must be held as a matter of priority to identify those responsible for the flooding," she said.

Another flood victim, Ahmed Mouradi, disagreed by saying that "local officials and the company in charge of the clean-up operation must do what they ought to do and pay compensation to all the people affected".

A great number of families lost all of their household furniture and have no hope of replacing it in the near future. Many people lost their cars.

"My insurance company has refused to pay me for the cover for my car to be repaired. My losses run into thousands of dirhams. I think next time I ought to choose the flood option because bad weather is not predictable," Mouradi said.

Economist Mohamed Joudari said people must enroll in a special flooding insurance in order to be covered.

"The water option offered by companies only relates to burst pipes and leaks. Flooding is separate from that. The number of people who enrolled in an insurance against flooding is very limited, so companies won't be paying much money. Just three companies offer insurance against natural disasters in Morocco. It's mainly the big companies that provide this option," he explained.

According to Joudari, it's time to enact the bill that would make natural disaster insurance compulsory for everyone. The government presented the bill to the parliament in July 2010.

According to the Ministry of the Economy and Finance, the future law makes provision for compulsory enrollment in additional insurance through the payment of a premium on top of the blanket rate for people who already hold insurance. This insurance would cover buildings, commercial and industrial premises, including their contents.

The law also envisions the creation of a Disaster Solidarity Fund, aimed at paying compensation to victims of non-insured natural calamities and encouraging the development of disaster risk insurance and reinsurance.

Source: Magharebia.com.
Link: http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/12/17/feature-02.