Historical buildings, as the cultural and identity heritage of any nation, play a vital role in transmitting civilizational values to future generations. However, they are constantly threatened by vulnerability to natural disasters and human factors. Despite the ratification of the Law on Supporting the Restoration and Revitalization of Historical-Cultural Textures (2019), Article 17 of this law, which mandates the insurance of historical buildings registered in the National Heritage List, has not been fully implemented after five years. Studies show that 14,659 historical buildings fall under this law, of which 74% are privately owned, and 26% are state-owned or endowed (waqf). Nevertheless, insuring these properties faces numerous challenges, including difficulties in financial and spiritual valuation, high vulnerability to earthquakes and floods, lack of regulatory infrastructure, international sanctions, and the financial weakness of domestic insurance companies. Furthermore, the absence of clear standards for calculating insurance premiums and the lack of specialized insurance companies for historical monuments have complicated the implementation of this mandate. To overcome these obstacles, it is proposed to amend Article 17 of the Law on Supporting the Restoration and Revitalization of Historical-Cultural Textures (2019). This amendment should oblige the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts, in cooperation with the State Organization for Registration of Deeds and Properties, to register the environmental and natural vulnerability levels, as well as the age of historical buildings, in the database subject to Clause (1) of Paragraph (C) of Article 83 of the Seventh Development Plan Law. Additionally, it is proposed that the Central Insurance of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Bimeh Markazi) be legally required to determine the base insurance rate solely based on the estimated costs of restoration and revitalization. Furthermore, earthquake insurance rates should be determined based on the structure type and building materials, the area and footprint of the building, the value of equipment and furnishings within the premises, the reconstruction cost per square meter in case of destruction due to earthquakes, and the building's exposure and hazard risk level.
| Rights and permissions | |
|
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |