Use insurance policies to protect against economic challenges — Shaibu Ali

“Given the ongoing economic challenges, it’s crucial for individuals, as well as commercial entities, to have all the necessary insurance policies to give them adequate protection in the event of an insured incident,” President of the Insurance Brokers Association of Ghana (IBAG), Shaibu Ali, has said. 

To drive that agenda, he said licensed insurance brokers are on hand and ready to provide essential guidance and personalised services to help clients choose the right coverage for their unique circumstances.

Mr Ali made the call when the association met with key media editors at a special forum in Accra on Tuesday.

The meeting was intended to court the media to assist with the renewed campaign by the association to help increase insurance penetration in the country using qualified and licensed brokers to assist in that endeavour.

This comes at a time when insurance penetration is still low despite the huge potential for growth in the country.

The country’s insurance industry has evolved over the years, with gross premiums increasing about tenfold from GH¢458 million in 2010 to GH¢6.6 billion in 2022.

Despite the huge quantum leap, however, insurance penetration rate in the country is still below two per cent, with more than 75 per cent of Ghanaians, representing about 25 million people, being uninsured.

New trend

On some of the major challenges facing the industry, Mr Ali said, “The new trend is for various other institutions, especially financial institutions, to sell insurance products to consumers. 

This is an area that we need to be very careful about. A lot of clients are getting negative experiences because they are dealing with bodies that are not professional insurance bodies.” 

Mr Ali said it is always easy and swift selling the product, but the real issues come up when claims occur. 

“I can say on all authority that a lot of the bad publicity that the insurance industry is attracting is from businesses sold by these non-insurance institutions. 

I, therefore, appeal to your good selves to help educate the public and ensure that when they buy insurance, they do so from a qualified, licensed and authorised insurance institutions only,” he added.

Collaboration

Mr Ali said the association was ready to change the trend, not for the sake of brokers alone but for the industry and the economy at large.

“We need to change the narrative and help the people and corporate institutions to have confidence in the insurance industry. This is why we are collaborating with the media,” he said.

“The media has a responsibility to engage with qualified insurance brokers to provide accurate information on insurance issues. 

By collaborating with professionals, the press can clarify complex topics, inform consumers about their rights and improve public understanding of insurance for financial security,” Mr Ali said. 

Awareness month

Mr Ali said premised on this, the association has set aside the month of October to create awareness of the relevance of brokers to the insuring public.

“As mentioned earlier, IBAG, as an association, sees the press as a strategic partner and an important stakeholder in helping to communicate and sensitise the public on insurance education and the relevance of brokers to the public in the insurance market. 

For this reason, it is necessary that we keep the media and the public informed of who we are as brokers and what we do and stand for. We shall, therefore, need your understanding and support to convey our role and relevance to the public.