Ghana needs independent insurance ombudsman to protect policyholders - Dr Amasah
A Law Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, (KNUST), Dr Edmond Nelson Amasah, has recommended the establishment of an independent insurance ombudsman to protect insurance policyholders.
“As a country, we need to have an independent insurance body that will look into dispute resolution between insurance firms and policy holders, especially to protect the policy holders “he stressed
He mentioned that countries such as South Africa, Canada and Australia have managed to separate the regulatory role from the protective role by setting up the independent ombudsman to protect policyholders.
Interview
Speaking in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Kasi, Dr Amasah said Ghana currently only has the regulator, National Insurance Commission (NIC), which plays diverse roles including monitoring, supervision and regulating players in the industry.
At the same, he added that the NIC was expected to protect one of the parties in any insurance contract which often became problematic, saying “this puts a lot of burden on the NIC that is already resource constrained”.
The interview provided an opportunity for Dr Amasah, who recently graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Insurance Law at the KNUST to throw more light on some of his research findings and recommendations of his doctoral thesis.
The thesis, titled “Mandatory Third-Party Motor Insurance Claims Denial Based on Bad Faith: Using Enhanced Consumer Measures as Instrument of Government Policy to the Insurance Commission for Protection,” analysed how regulatory gaps and low public literacy allow insurers to delay or deny claims with limited consequences.
Also, it focused on systemic delays and denials of third-party motor insurance claims in Ghana.
Mediation
He said, “there is the need for the insurance ombudsman which will mediate and serve as a dispute resolution mechanism between insurance companies and policy holders”.
Having the insurance ombudsman, he said would provide the opportunity for the ombudsman to properly educate policy holders about their policies, what they stand to benefit and advise accordingly as well.
“Considering the current structure of the NIC, it cannot really ensure effective and efficient protection of policy holders. This is why there is the need for the insurance ombudsman to perform that task” he mentioned
Tackle bad reputation
Responding to a question on bad reputation of some insurance firms, he called for conscious efforts to deal with it holistically to shore up public confidence in insurance companies, saying “the unnecessary delay and frustration that policy holders go through must be tackled”.
“There must be a paradigm shift in the attitude of insurance firms not paying claims especially to become a thing of the past. This will encourage Ghanaians to trust the insurance firms and sign on to various policies” he stated
He advised the people to voluntary sign on to various insurance policies towards growing the insurance industry, saying “it is very worrying that Ghana’s insurance penetration rate is less than one per cent”.
