Insurance Institute hosts lively lunchtime seminar 

“Lively” was an understatement for the atmosphere created when the energetic Insurance Institute of SVG held its latest Lunchtime Seminar on Tuesday, February 13 in De Salad Shop at the Cruise Ship Terminal.

A strong gathering of insurance professionals met to hear guest speaker Desmond Pompey, engineer at the Physical Planning Unit, whose topic was “Construction Standards and Enforcement”. Joe Sheridan, the Insurance Institute’s PRO, introduced Pompey, and the eager audience was attentive, as he presented facts and figures, including: Vincentians need to know that all of St Vincent can be considered a “Landslippage Zone”; buildings with more than 2,500 sq ft of floor space will soon need architectural input; building owners can avoid costly mistakes by utilizing professionals on contracts; building without official approval can incur a EC$ 20,000 fine; if you disobey an order to stop building, the penalty can be EC$500 per day; ground floors of new residences should now be designed to be secure from natural hazards, such as storms and earthquakes; poor drainage can have serious and expensive consequences for property owners.  

The questions were coming thick and fast, and Pompey handled these with style, whilst keeping the entire  audience involved in the highly interactive discussions. 

The insurance professionals were keenly interested in ensuring that buildings and structures are “SAFE” . They were intrigued to know that already some banks and other lenders are demanding evidence of approval by the Physical Planning Unit, before they advance funds to borrowers.

Perhaps in the near future, Vincentians may find that they may need to provide proof of Planning approval, before being able to obtain construction insurance.

Insurance Institute president Kim Haydock expressed much appreciation on behalf of the gathering, which included Michael Gibson of Gibson Construction Ltd, whose previous guest speaker presentation stimulated major interest in Construction Standards and Enforcement.

The Insurance Institute of SVG was founded in 1997 to provide Education, Training and Examinations to insurance professionals in SVG.