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The National Insurance Commission (NIC) has urged the government to insure all government properties, in the wake of the fire that gutted the Central Medical Stores (CMS) of the Ghana Health Service in Tema. It said although government properties were exempted from compulsory insurance under the Insurance Act, 2006 (Act 724), the government could benefit if it insured its properties. Section 184 (1) of the act states: �Every commercial building shall be insured with an insurer against the hazards of collapse, fire, earthquake, storm and flood and an insurance policy issued for it.� In an interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the NIC, Mr Kojo Ghunney, explained that the government could take advantage of the fire at the CMS to insure its properties. He pointed out that if the CMS had been insured, the insurance company would have borne the cost of the building and the medical supplies destroyed by the fire. The fire, which started last Monday, destroyed items worth GH�237 million. Following the revelation that the CMS was not insured, the public has stressed the need for the government to insure its properties. The Minister of Health, Dr Kwaku Agyemang-Mensah, was also reported to have directed that all strategic facilities under the ministry be insured. Appeals Mr Ghunney said following the destruction of the building housing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ridge residence of former President Jerry John Rawlings in 2009 and 2010 respectively, the Ghana Insurers Association (GIA) made several appeals to the government to insure its properties. However, he said the government had not taken the issue up to insure its properties. The PRO said insurance did not attract any huge payments and indicated that the benefits of insurance were enormous.