Following widespread devastation caused by disasters in recent years across the country, the Ministry of Disaster Preparedness and Refugee Affairs (Midimar) is urging people to insure their properties to avoid losses caused by disasters.

"We want people to insure their properties. Last year we experienced several disasters, mostly fire outbreaks that claimed lives and destroyed property,” said Jean Baptiste Nsengiyumva, the Director of Risk Reduction and Preparedness Unit at Midimar.

"Those still in high risk zones should relocate to safer zones and those in safer zones should have their premises insured,” Nsengiyumva added.

Disasters claimed 76 lives, injured 125 others, and caused several material losses in 2014, Midimar said.

Fire outbreaks topped the list of disasters in 2014 with 77 recorded cases.

Up to 1,725 houses and 1,183 hectares of plantations were also destroyed by floods during the same period, leading to loss of billions of francs, while 191 livestock perished.

Fire outbreaks have increased in recent times with 327 fires registered across the country since 2011.

A total of 84 fire outbreaks were registered in 2011, 93 in 2012, 73 in 2013 and 76 in 2014.

A national inquiry set up to investigate causes of the fire outbreaks found that 61 per cent of the fire incidents were due to short circuit, while 22 per cent were due to unknown causes. Nine per cent were arson, 4 per cent caused by road incidents, 3 per cent by hazardous domestic activities, and 1 per cent by chemical explosion. Learning the hard way

Jerome Nsanzumuhire, a wholesaler in Kigali, said the previous fires taught him the need to secure his assets by insuring his store.

"My stock was not insured but I am now planning to have it insured so that I can be compensated in case of fire,” he said.

Nsanzumuhire said he is also planning to install a cooling post in his store to complement the small fire extinguishers in the building where his shop is located.

"I saw my colleagues whose houses were burnt lose billions in mechandise and yet most of us got loans from banks,” he said.

Evalide Masasu, a resident of Gitega whose bar was gutted by fire early last year, said what befell him taught him a lesson.

"The fire gutted my bar reducing everything to ashes yet I had no insurance cover. I lost about Rwf6 million. I am currently rehabilitating the house but as soon as I am done, I will insure it,” he said.

What insurance companies do

Jean Pierre Majoro, the executive secretary for Rwanda Association of Insurers, urged insurance companies to conduct more public awareness campaigns on their products.

"We saw many houses gutted by fire, but most of them were not insured. I hope some of them were not insured due to lack of information about fire insurance. There is need for insurance companies to do more to raise public awareness,” Majoro said.

Government initiatives

Apart from urging people to insure their premises, the government this year plans to complete relocation of those living in high risk disaster zones to safer zones.

Augustin Kampayana, the head of human settlement, planning, and development at the Rwanda Housing Authority (RHA), said the Government was committed to getting more than 5,000 households in Muhanga District out of high risk disaster areas.

Of the 7, 039 households which were in high risk zones countrywide in November — mostly swamps and steep slopes— 5,620 were in Muhanga alone, Kampayana says.

The government has concentrated efforts in the district, investing over Rwf1 billion to help get the concerned households out of high risk zones.

The government has also set up teams to ensure that public buildings comply with a Prime Minister’s order on fire safety regulations.

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