…critically required to improve insurance penetration
With a focus to improving the rather measly contribution of the Marine class of business to the insurance industry, stakeholders are pushing for a law making marine insurance compulsory.
President of the Ghana Insurers Association (GIA) Ms Aretha Duku has observed that, much as penetration for the entire industry is low, growth in the marine subsector is almost non-existent despite significant growth in imports.
She made this observation at a Marine Insurance Training and Stakeholder’s Interaction Workshop at Ada, running from June 10 to 16,
The training workshop, organised by GIA in partnership with the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), brought together about 150 industry players, including from Insurance companies and Brokers, as well as other participants from some public agencies
“In countries where the Maritime business booms…there is a Marine Act in place to support this initiative,” Duku said to buttress the point about the need for the Act.
Industry players are thus advocating a law that makes patronage of marine insurance services mandatory.
Duku highlighted activities that the GIA has so far been engaged in, or is seeking to do, towards the realisation of this objective.
These include GIA’s conversation with industry regulator, the National Insurance Commission (NIC) to consider compulsory insurance, especially marine insurance as one of the Compulsory Insurances in the Amendment of Insurance Act 2016 (Act 724) since Section 37, which addresses the sector, is ambiguous.
The Association is also planning, as part of its 30th Anniversary celebration, to feature public awareness and education through various media platforms, prominently on Marine Insurance.
The GIA also seeks to collaborate with The Insurance Awareness Coordinators Group of Ghana (IACG) in their activities across country.
While they have lobbied the inclusion of Marine Insurance as one of priority issues in the 2018 Budget, upon the instigation of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) they have engaged the Private Enterprises Federation (PEF) on the same.
Corroborating the position on the ambiguity of law on Marine insurance, Commissioner of the NIC, Mr Justice Yaw Ofori attributed the low patronage of marine insurance the Insurance Act, which required that all goods being imported into Ghana, if they are insured, must be insured by Ghanaian insurance companies but, however, is not insistent on all imported goods being mandatorily insured.
Ofori was hopeful the workshop will arrive at a consensus on the best way forward, emphasizing that when Parliament and government, through the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) are apprised of the benefits of making Marine Insurance compulsory, a ne Act to that effect wouldn’t be a problem.
By Emmanuel Kwablah
