THE tragedy of Tudor Street, The City is not an issue for the insurance industry but moreso is about adhering to the building code.
Head of the risk management department of Sagicor General, Marlon Graham, said there was a building code, but compliance was another matter.
“If a business has one door and we deem that the place is too high risk, then we are well within our right not to ensure that particular building.
“There is a building code in place, but compliance is another issue. If we stick to the building code and start then to abide by those regulations, we would be better off.
“It has to be said that this is not really an insurance issue but it is moreso a building code issue. If this place was allowed to operate with one door, by all rights, they should be able to get insurance,” Graham said.
Graham told the Weekend NATION that all of the places with one door exits were off limits for Sagicor General.
“There are a few places in Swan Street that have two doors. Actually, we had one business with one door that was on our books for a long time and we asked them to put in an additional door and this has been done.”
So why has some of the properties in Bridgetown been insured over the years when it is clear, some are in clear violation of the building code?
“It could be a case where some of these one-door exits were on the books for 20 or more years and those places were allowed to slip under the radar.
“This is why our risk management department at Sagicor General was created to bring everyone up to date,” said Graham, a 31-year-old cricketer.
“Since 9-11 (September 2001), a lot of things were put in place and that we do it . . . and when I say we I don’t mean just Sagicor General, I have been privileged to work alongside some of the other insurance companies . . . the standards that have been put in place by GIAB have been pretty decent so I don’t think it would change too many things,” he added.
