Ghanaians urged to patronise life insurance products
Mrs Lydia Lariba Bawa, the Commissioner of Insurance, has urged Ghanaians to adopt and patronise micro-insurance products, particularly Life Insurance, as a way of life.
She said in recent times individuals had used life insurance as a way to either kick-start business ventures or even boost already existing ones as more and more financiers sought to cover their investments by requesting borrowers to ensure the credit facilities.
Mrs Bawa made the appeal in a speech read on her behalf in Accra by Mr Simon Nerro Davor, the Deputy Commissioner of the National Insurance Commission, at the first national Life Insurance sales roundtable.
The event was organised under the auspices of Customer Experience Consortium (CXC), the Ghana Insurers Association and the Ghana Insurance Brokers Association, on the theme: “Insuring Lives in Ghana: Challenges and Opportunities”.
Mrs Bawa said in spite of its importance, Life Insurance patronage had a long way to go before reaching its expected height whether as a ratio of premium underwritten in a particular year to gross domestic product.
She said the recent happenings in the insurance industry with regard to micro-insurance gave stakeholders the hope that all was not lost, and that with the right approach, many more Ghanaians would enjoy the massive benefits that life insurance brought.
Mrs Bawa said technology played a major role in getting the message across to the millions of non-insured Ghanaians; however, no matter how significant the role was, one could not discount the role of selling in increasing the penetration rate of Life Insurance in the country.
The Commissioner, who commended the organisers on the initiative, described the occasion as a platform to dissect challenges and provide suggestions and ideas to begin the positive revolution in the industry.
“Whatever the policy, whatever the approach, consumers would buy if we step out to sell,” she said.
Mr C. C. Bruce Jnr, the Chief Operating Officer of Enterprise Group, said customers were more demanding and sophisticated in their financial service needs and that companies must understand the profile of their policy holders to be able to respond to their needs.
“Our response is to invest in technology, build capacities and knowledge base to simplify processes and as well have a long term policy retention strategy,” he said.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency, Mr Jerry Halm, the Chief Service Officer for CXC, said there was the need to tackle the challenge of poor customer service and low sales volumes.
He said the Life Insurance industry was among industries with low sales considering its penetration rate; hence CXC’s initiative created a platform for stakeholders to collaborate on sales policies, strategies and approaches that suited the Ghanaian market.
Mr Halm described CXC as a business consultancy aimed at enhancing volume of sales and quality service in Ghana which had been tackling industry specific sales through its innovative events, seminars and conferences.
Source: GNA