Insurance awards launched

Saturday, September 13, 2008 (The Mirror Pg 34)
By Rebecca Kwei
Players in the insurance industry will have their contributions in the country recognised with the introduction of the Ghana Insurance Awards.
The maiden edition of an insurance awards which was launched on Tuesday, is based on customer survey. The award ceremony which is expected to come off in October will coincide with the Insurance Week when deserving companies in the insurance sector would be given awards in various categories from the perspective of the consumer.
The Ghana Insurance Awards format, which is modelled alongside the Ghana Banking Awards format, is the initiative of Corporate Initiative Ghana (CIG) and supported by the Ghana Insurers Association, which is the umbrella organisation of all the insurance players in the country.
In all, 16 awards will be given and would involve interviews with corporate bodies and individuals about 3,000 entities on the whole.
Launching the awards, an economist, Dr Joe Abbey, said the insurance industry faced a lot of challenges but the growth prospects for them were promising.
He said insurers had to move up the value chain by providing innovative products, value-added services and holistic risk management.
Dr Abbey noted that the increase in wealth and life expectancy would lead individuals to demand a range of wealth protection and health insurance products, as well as property casualty coverage.
He added that the economic growth, coupled with the higher use of vehicles in the country would give rise to new risks requiring insurance coverage from factory owners to cover property and casualty and to car owners that needed automobile insurance.
According to Dr Abbey, Ghana’s growing wealth and increasing sophistication of economic activities would lead to a sharp growth in the volume and complexity of risks, adding that investors and individuals would be more conscious of managing these risks.
He said further that even as more complex insurance products were being introduced to the market, insurance intermediaries had a duty to ensure that consumers were only offered products they could understand and find suitable.
“Any undesirable sales practice such as churning and inappropriate switching will undermine the reputation of the insurance industry, with adverse consequence for its ability to attract good quality talent,” Dr Abbey said.
According to CIG, the organisers of the awards, the insurance awards ceremony was part of its vision to enhance financial service delivery in the country.
Mr Afotey Odarteifio, the Executive Secretary of CIG, said having organised successfully seven Ghana Banking Awards, CIG was set to deliver yet another prestigious awards scheme in the insurance industry.
He said the awards were unique because users of financial service and products would be the judges of which insurance company would merit awards.
The award would be based on 2007 financial results and performance.