The Umbrella body of insurance professionals, Chartered Insurance Institute of Ghana (CIIG), has revealed that the country currently has only 448 licensed chartered practitioners.

According to the institute, the Ghana Insurance College’s membership has grown since its inception, specifically disclosing that members who have received Associateship and Fellowship have risen significantly.

The Insurance Institute mentioned that Activa International Insurance Company, Allianz Life Insurance Company, Best Insurance Company, Coronation Insurance Company, Donewell Insurance Company, Enterprise Insurance Company, Enterprise Life, Ghana National Bureau, Glico Life, Glico General, Hollard Insurance Ghana, Hollard Life, Imperial General, and Priority Insurance Company are among the 30 corporate members of CIIG.

Also among the list are Metropolitan Insurance Company, MiLife Insurance Company, NSIA Insurance Ghana, Old Mutual Life, Prime Insurance, Provident Insurance, Phoenix Insurance, Quality Insurance, Serene Insurance Company, SIC Life, SIC General, Star Assurance, Sunu Assurance, Unique Insurance, and Vanguard Assurance.

Reclassification of Insurance Penetration Rate

The Umbrella institute, however, averred that it will advocate for a reclassification of the insurance sector’s penetration rate in the country to include pensions and health insurance.

The recent Bank of Ghana’s Financial Stability Review 2020 report showed that the insurance sector’s contribution to GDP is currently around 1 per cent, with only life and non-life insurance premium contributions accounting for the majority of the total figure. Non-life insurers retained 66 percent of premiums last year, compared to 84 percent for life insurers. Non-life insurers had a lower retention ratio due to the nature of the risks they underwrote and the high gross insurance risk ratio.

According to the institute, Ghana’s penetration rate is hampered by the omission of health insurance and pension assets when compared to other professional bodies in the country.

The President of the CIIG, Tawiah Ben-Ahmed, posited that it has become important to analyze the elements that lead to insurance penetration in Ghana and gave details about specific policies’ contribution to the sector.

“As of 2020, the market premium was about 3.9 billion – 2 billion of which is the contribution of life insurance and about 1 billion of which is the contribution of general insurance.
Tawiah Ben-Ahmed

Furthermore, the institute hinted at unveiling plans that will clearly review insurance penetration in Ghana to include pensions and health insurance.

“In the first quarter of 2022, the CIIG is going to come up with a journal and it is going to redefine insurance penetration in Ghana to have a consolidated view of the rate, so that when we talk about insurance penetration in Ghana it is not only the contribution of life and general insurance but also pensions and health insurance.”
Tawiah Ben-Ahmed

Meanwhile, Dr. Justice Yaw Ofori, the Commissioner of Ghana Insurance Commission, expressed confidence about the new insurance act, Act 2021, Act 1061, which aims to increase insurance penetration. This measure, he believes, is a progressivist measure that will translate into national development.

“The Act (Act 2021, Act 1061) will be supplemented with regulations to ensure that the benefits of this forward-thinking legislation are fully reaped by the market. It is hoped that this will result in the growth of the insurance sector leading to the development of the national economy.”
Dr. Justice Yaw Ofori