Life insurance for state employees

But while more employers in the private sector seem to be embracing the Group Life Insurance Policy that the law stipulates, recent reports suggest that state governments across the country are dragging their feet in signing off on it for their payroll employees to be covered. Section 5 of the Pensions Reform Act of 2014, […]

But while more employers in the private sector seem to be embracing the Group Life Insurance Policy that the law stipulates, recent reports suggest that state governments across the country are dragging their feet in signing off on it for their payroll employees to be covered.
Section 5 of the Pensions Reform Act of 2014, which was signed into law on July 1, 2014 by President Goodluck Jonathan, requires every employer to maintain a Group Life Insurance Policy in favour of each employee for a minimum of three times the annual total emolument or pay of the employee and premium must be paid not later than the date of commencement of the cover.
The policy means that in the event of the death of any employee covered by the scheme, the next of kin will be given a relief three times what the deceased earned annually, in addition to the regular entitlement of such an employee after service.
The policy is supposed to give the employees peace of mind, knowing that adequate arrangement has been made under it to provide financial security for their families in the event of their demise.
The policy also frees the community of the threats associated with displaced family members arising from the death of a breadwinner in the family; and relieves the employer of spontaneous financial commitments in the event of an employee’s demise.
  It is however disheartening that 31 of the states of the federation are yet to key into a programme that is obviously beneficial to both them as employers and employees in the drive for efficiency and productivity. Only Lagos, Osun, Ekiti, Niger and Rivers states have approved the policy to be implemented for their employees, although in the Rivers’ case, the reports suggest that the government is yet to renew the policy since it expired in June 2013.
The indication that Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kebbi, Sokoto and Kogi states are just transiting to the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), and have not embraced the Group Life Insurance Policy is equally disappointing. The same sad tale is unfortunately emanating from Nasarawa, Delta, Bayelsa, Edo, AkwaIbom, Imo, Anambra, Enugu, Taraba, Jigawa, Adamawa and Kano states.
There are suggestions that the houses of assembly of some of the affected states collude with the governors to frustrate the introduction of the policy by repeatedly putting off consideration of legislation to kick-start the process. In the long run, this is not a helpful development because it is the progress of the states that would be affected if productivity of the employees is not enhanced through measures such as this policy.
It is obvious that a policy like this, which involves so many people, always comes with some constraints at the initial stage, which can be overcome through a well thought-out plan.  
It is important for all concerned, the employees, the employers and the insuring companies, to evolve an enduring process through collaborative effort towards overcoming the hiccups associated with the initiative so as to reap its benefits.
The regulatory agencies should also invoke the necessary provisions of the relevant laws to enforce compliance. The Pension Reform Act 2014 empowers the National Pension Commission and its insurance counterpart to carry out their statutory duties, including ensuring such compliance.