Letter from the table: When the water goes down, the costs remain

RC/RS/2026/T.14
Type: Table letter
Stance: Supports
Date: 27 June 2026

To the Resilience Council

I am writing in English, but I am trying to carry into this letter what owners in my Igbo-speaking community say to one another after a flood. We do not usually begin with the word “resilience.” We say: the water has gone, but how do we open again? We say: who will help us before the next payment is due?

On 14 July 2025, heavy rain flooded the area where my small operation works in Lagos. Water came into the space overnight. By morning, equipment, papers and some stock had been damaged. I will not describe the work or name the business. What matters is what happened next: the street began to clear before our accounts did.

I spent the first days moving what could be saved, cleaning and making the space safe. I paid ₦185,000 for urgent clearing and repairs, from money set aside for other bills. Two people who help me could not work normally for several days. I still had obligations to meet while taking in less money. The loss was not one large figure that arrived all at once. It was a row of smaller demands: transport, replacement materials, repairs, wages and the cost of keeping the operation from stopping completely.

I had insurance. I notified the insurer on 15 July and sent photographs, a list of damaged items and the documents requested. A visit to assess the damage took place on 22 July. I followed up by phone and in writing. I also checked public information from the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency and the Nigerian

Meteorological Agency. Those institutions have different roles: one concerns emergency management in Lagos; the other provides weather information. Neither could replace the money needed to resume work or decide my insurance claim.

My claim was not resolved within the first month. I was told that more documents were needed, and I kept asking what exactly was missing. The final payment arrived on 9 September: ₦640,000. It helped, and I am grateful that the cover existed. But by then I had already borrowed ₦300,000 from relatives and postponed two payments. I spent time following up at the same moment I needed to put the operation back in order.

I do not say this to accuse an individual. A claim has to be checked. The policy terms matter, and flood cover and exclusions should be understood before a loss happens. But an owner should not have to guess whether a file is complete, or wait without a clear date for the next decision. In Nigeria, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) regulates the insurance sector. Knowing that a regulator exists is not the same as having cash to pay tomorrow’s bills while a claim is being assessed.

In the conversations I hear, owners often ask for a loan first because it is the only help they can reach quickly. Then they worry about paying it back before they know whether the claim will be accepted. Others do not make a claim at all: they fear the paperwork, they are unsure what their policy covers, or they believe the amount at stake will not justify the time. These are not arguments against insurance. They are reasons to make the route from loss to decision understandable and usable.

I support RS-001, the Reopen Standard. A decision on an insurance claim within 30 days would give owners a date to plan around. If more evidence is needed, the insurer should say what it is and why, rather than leave the owner to discover the gap through repeated follow-ups. Bridge funding within 10 days of a declared disaster could keep a micro business from losing its place, its working tools or its ability to pay people while the longer claim process continues. Continuity-planning support would help owners prepare before the warning comes, not only collect documents after the water recedes.

I ask the Council to think carefully about the word “declared.” A small flooded area may be in urgent need even when the event is not treated as a major disaster across the whole state. The standard should explain what evidence can establish a qualifying local event, and how an owner can access help without spending weeks trying to find the right office. A simple checklist, a named contact route and clear written status updates would be useful parts of the promise.

We know the rainy season returns. We hear forecasts, watch the drains and move what we can. Preparation helps, but it cannot make a claim move faster or replace the cash lost in the first days. Please make the standard practical for the owner who has no finance department and no spare person to chase a file.

Notes and sources

Sources

1. National Insurance Commission (NAICOM)
2. Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA)
3. Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet)