Mandatory home earthquake insurance - US House: The bill needs some improvements and clarifications
The American Chamber of Commerce has asked the Ministry of Finance to make some improvements to the draft law on mandatory earthquake insurance. This draft law was released for public consultation at the end of July.
According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the bill defines dwellings and interior sections, but leaves ambiguity about mixed-use buildings or structures that are only partially residential.
For those who do not insure their homes against the earthquake, they will no longer be offered cadastral services, they will not receive services from e-Albania and the National Business Center. Although this is a strong reason for respecting the law, says the American Chamber of Commerce, the refusal of basic services "punishes" those who are in difficult financial conditions and cannot afford to pay the premium. According to the Chamber, it is necessary to provide for exceptions or facilities for certain categories such as pensioners, families on economic assistance and others.
In fact, in the draft law, the Ministry of Finance has emphasized that for social groups in need, the state will be the one to finance the mandatory earthquake insurance premium.
On the other hand, the Earthquake Fund will administer insurance premiums and compensation. According to the American Chamber of Commerce, the creation of the Earthquake Fund as a public joint-stock company is positive, but the law gives the Ministry of Finance too many rights over appointments and oversight, raising doubts about the Fund's true independence.
Meanwhile, according to the draft law, compensation will be provided after 3 months from the citizen's application, but the procedures in case of refusal or delay in compensation are not clarified. Also, the complaint before the ad-hoc commission is not detailed and the inclusion of mediation or arbitration for resolving disputes would provide more confidence.
The draft law provides for the creation of an insurance registry and the exchange of data between institutions, but does not explicitly refer to compliance with the law on the protection of personal data, says the American Chamber of Commerce.
On the other hand, the draft law addresses mandatory and voluntary insurance, but the coordination between them and the order of payments is not detailed.
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