‘Demystify insurance claims process’

 The Ghana Insurers Association (GIA) has advised insurance companies to simplify the language used in insurance policies to make it easy for their clients to understand to encourage insurance penetration.

Speaking at the opening of a refresher course for claims and underwriting officers, the Chairman of the Life Council of the GIA, Mr Edward Forkuo Kyei, said since insurance terms could be confusing, there was the need for officials to use simple and familiar words to make it easy for the public to understand.

The course, on the theme: “Demystifying the claims process — sure route to increased patronage”, was organised by the GIA.

It was aimed at sharpening the skills of the participants to enable them to carry out their duties with increased efficiency.

Initiatives

Mr Kyei urged insurance companies to roll out initiatives aimed at simplifying the experience of purchasing insurance and redeeming insurance claims.  

Poor claims management, he said, could lead to the closure of business and reduce customer confidence considerably, “which will worsen the already low insurance penetration”.

He also called for the prompt payment of claims to policy holders.

Claims management critical

In a welcome address, the President of the GIA, Ms Aretha Duku, said claims management was critical to the smooth operation of any insurance company.

She expressed the hope that  through training programmes, the handling of claims would improve tremendously and help lift the image of insurance business in Ghana.

“You can only test your policy when a claim occurs. During a claim process, if it becomes apparent that the insured is not quite knowledgeable about the policy wording, then it appears you the insurer has not done your work well because the onus is on us to get the insured along with us. This will ensure good faith right from the start,” she noted.

She described customer complaints as feedback that showed that insurers had a lot of work to do, adding: “We will continue to work till such time that we know that confidence in the insuring public is improved.”

According to her, claims management could improve considerably from the underwriting level when officials helped the insured to understand the process.

Writer’s email:emelia.ennin@graphic.com.gh