Mall investors face insurance hitch

Kenyans who had invested millions of shillings at the Westgate Mall are faced with complete losses since some of their properties did not have terrorism insurance cover.

Most of those who accessed their shops yesterday — 10 days after the attack by terrorists — were faced not only with loss of jobs, but also of investments they had painstakingly made.

CRUSHED BY RUBBLE

This comes after parts of the mall were destroyed by an inferno, looted or destroyed by whizzing bullets.

A businessman, Mr Suboah Gadani, said his vehicle had been crushed by the rubble in the basement parking lot, but his insurance company had refused to compensate him as there was no terrorism clause in the cover.

“This is a complete loss for me. But I am happy that my wife and I escaped death,” he said.

Mr Gadani was among dozens of traders and shoppers who were allowed entry into the shopping complex to retrieve their cars and goods they could salvage.

Another trader, Ms Doris Gathenja, is counting losses as clothes in her shop have bullet holes and are as good as wasted stock.

“The business climate has become uncertain and I am sceptical whether this time I will be able to restock my shop,” she said.

There are other tough issues the victims have to deal with such as loans to be repaid and how to meet other financial obligations, having been driven out of jobs in unforeseen circumstances.
Nakumatt managing director Atul Shah said about 1,500 employees had lost their jobs after its shop was destroyed during the attack.

“We are not only mourning the death of colleagues and shoppers, but we are also worried about the loss of many jobs and investments, which means many people will be faced with an uncertain future,” he said.

On Tuesday, it emerged that insurance firms were declining to compensate their clients who had not been covered by the terrorism clause. This type of cover has not been popular in the country as it is considered a low-risk area.

However, investors will have to reconsider their stance given the increasing cases of terrorism.

Mr Gadani said that had he been aware that a cover touching on the risk of terrorism was available, he would have taken it.