Amissah-Arthur challenges insurance operators to improve services
Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, on Thursday urged operators of insurance industry to take advantage of technology and develop robust information infrastructure, to improve upon their services.
He said insurance industry in Ghana had been too conservative and less proactive, and unwilling to venture outside its comfort zone but “the time had come for the industry to adapt its product and services to the needs, circumstances and aspirations of the people”.
The Vice President made the call in a speech read on his behalf by Mr. Fiifi Fiavi Kwetey, Minister at the Presidency in Charge of Financial and Allied Institutions, at the second edition of Life Insurance conference, organized by the Ghana Insurance Association (GIA) in Accra.
The conference was on the theme: “Compulsory Group Life Insurance Cover: A Tool for Sustainable Socio-Economic Development”.
It is to highlight the relevance of group life insurance in the socio-economic development of the country as well as serve as a vehicle for mobilizing long term investible funds for development projects.
Vice President Amissah-Arthur said the insurance was critical to the financial service sector, and it had constituted the bedrock for socio-economic development.
“A viable and vibrant insurance sector is, therefore, a pre-requisite for sustainable socio-economic development of all nations.
He said in Africa, a few countries were doing better than Ghana and cited South Africa which had a penetration level of 14.8%, Namibia 7.3% and Kenya, 2.8%.
The Vice President said on the whole, the continent‘s insurance market contributed less than two per cent of the world’s total insurance premiums in 2011 and 2012.
Vice President Amissah-Arthur said the business world’s interest and attention was focused on Africa, and the insurance sector was anticipated to be a major beneficiary of the great opportunities that were being created on the continent.
He expressed the hope that operators of the insurance sector would undertake the necessary repositioning and take advantage of the opportunities and overcome challenges.
Vice President Amissah-Arthur commended the industry for introducing a weather-indexed agricultural insurance in Ghana with the support of the German Development Agency (GIZ) and other stakeholders.
The Vice President said government believed that the availability of insurance protection for the agricultural sector would not only ensure compensation to farmers but also financial institutions would be more comfortable granting facilities in support of agriculture.
“Government is also aware of efforts the industry is making to expand the coverage of insurance to the informal sector and the rural folks through the introduction of micro insurance product and services,” he said.
Adding that, the recent fires in some markets across the country and the perennial flood that visited havoc on operators in the informal economy, called into question the lack of insurance interventions for this critical segment of the economy.
He said government would continue to provide effective and efficient legal and regulatory environment to ensure a thriving financial sector, including insurance.
Mr. Kwame-Gazo Agbenyadzie, President of the GIA, said the insurance industry in Ghana continued to evolve and reinvent itself to remain relevant and robust to provide insurance solutions that would meet international standards.
He said the GIA support efforts being made by the regulator to develop a financial sound industry that would be able to meet the expectations of the insured public, as well as discharge effectively its corporate responsibilities.
Mr. Agbenyadzie pledged the association’s commitment to reforms and urged government to fast track the draft Bill on insurance into law to enhance operations of the industry.
He said the country was losing benefits that should accrue from the provisions of the Insurance Act adding that “however, due to lack of enforcement, millions of cedis in premiums are lost to overseas insurance market annually”.
Mr. Simon Nerro K. Davor, Acting Commissioner of Insurance, said the National Insurance Commission would assist in the development of Life Insurance in the country.
He asked players in the industry to support new financial and prudential reporting requirements to improve information disclosure to stimulate public interest and confidence in insurance.
Mr. Cleland Cofie Bruce, Chairman of Life Insurance Council, said making corporate life insurance compulsory in Ghana would reflect the value placed on the Ghanaian worker and provide employers a vehicle to meet obligations they already carry.
Source: GNA