Graphic Business/GIA Insurance Fair begins tomorrow

Tomorrow at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly Gardens, the nation’s insurance companies will converge to exhibit their products and services, as well as educate patrons on the importance of insurance.

The annual event dubbed the: “Graphic Business-Ghana Insurers Association (GIA) Insurance Fair” will witness over 25 insurance companies display insurance products, offer insurance solutions to clients and customers and create awareness about the vital role insurance plays in the everyday lives of Ghanaians.

Some participants expected at the three-day event which climaxes on Friday are: Hollard Insurance Alife, Activa International insurance, GLICO, GLICO Life, SUNU Assurance, Millennium Insurance, DONEWELL Insurance Limited, DONEWELL Life, Enterprise Life, Enterprise Insurance, Prudential Life Insurance Ghana, StarLife and Nsia Insurance.

The rest are miLife Insurance, Imperial General Assurance, Phoenix Insurance, KEK Insurance Brokers Limited, EMWA, Provident Insurance Company Limited, SIC, Star Assurance, OLDMUTUAL and Impact Life Insurance.

Also expected at the fair which begins each day at 8am and ends at 7pm will be the the Acting Commissioner of Insurance, Michael Kofi Andoh and other invited dignitaries.

Under the theme ‘Promoting Inclusivity and Accessibility’, the fair is expected to attract hundreds of attendees across the length and breadth of the country and generate a buzz around Accra Central.

Launch

At the launch of the fair about a  fortnight ago at the National Insurance Commission (NIC) in Accra, insurers were charged to design policies and products to target the informal sector.

They were also encouraged to innovate and introduce technology to make their work more accessible to clients and customers.

“The availability of products designed specifically to meet the needs of the informal sector players have become a big challenge, people keep buying the insurance but they don’t get the opportunity to redeem their claims,’ the Acting Insurance Commissioner, Michael Kofi Andoh stated at the launch attended by stakeholders in the industry.

He also stressed that his outfit is building the capacity of insurance companies to develop products for the informal sector while educating and training micro business operators across the country on the need for insurance in their work.

Addressing challenges

To address these challenges, Kofi Andoh said his outfit has leveraged on technology to develop digital solutions that can be easily accessed by clients to redeem their insurance packages.

He added that to improve the insurance value chain his outfit last year organized the ‘Technological Forum’, a platform that pitches technology experts with insurance agencies to find innovative solutions to challenges faced in the insurance sector.

"We are also looking at the excluded segment with a focus on gender where there are more women than men in the country yet there are few insurance policies that specifically address the issue of women, we need to design products and services that cater to the specific needs of women,” he stated.

According to him women form a majority of the informal sector and also form the majority of Ghanaians. He therefore tasked insurers to make an impact in that sector.

He also touched on Persons Living with Disabilities (PLWD) as part of the excluded sector as vital public to be included in the insurance space.

“Another strategy we are using is the effective collaboration with development partners and inter-governmental agencies”, he noted.

He charged insurance agencies to also focus on micro businesses and SMEs that have a large informal population to increase their market.