Serene Insurance, one of Ghana’s leading indigenous insurance companies has called on the trading public to support indigenous companies like Serene Insurance to retain money in Ghana that would grow the local insurance industry.
The Head of Marketing at Serene Insurance, Mrs. Eugenia Agyiri-Tettey stated this whilst speaking on the Eye on Port program.
Meanwhile, she attributed the low patronage of marine insurance locally to the non-enforcement of the marine insurance act. However, she lauded the National Insurance Authority for its current drive to enforce the law. This law, she indicates, requires importers to purchase marine insurance locally.
“NIC is doing very well when it comes to reinforcement. So, when the law is fully enacted and there is a penalty attached, I am sure most people would start purchasing insurance here”.
Also, she entreated Ghanaian importers to purchase the company’s marine insurance policies. According to her, the policies cover the transfer of goods from the warehouse of the supplier abroad to the warehouse of the buyer in Ghana.
The need to purchase marine insurance
Besides, she explained that Serene Insurance has attractive policies that will give value to people who purchase this policy. She pointed out that purchasing marine insurance saves traders from dire ramifications associated with loss or damage of expensive cargoes.
“These are capital-intensive investments. Assuming someone is sending in a 40-footer container of pharmaceutical products from abroad, it can run into billions of cedis. You can’t bank in on the hope that it will arrive safely. You have to protect the goods”.
There are widespread claims that indigenous insurance firms do not have the expertise to provide holistic marine insurance covers. This is sometimes, the reason why traders prefer to insure their goods with foreign companies.
However, Mrs. Agyiri-Tettey disagreed. She explained that indigenous insurance companies, especially Serene, have the capacity and experience to provide marine insurance covers. She further assured the importers and exporters that even if the loss is huge, the company can cover that through reinsurance.
“There is what we call reinsurance… Once a big claim comes our way, all equally liable companies that we gave insurance to, contribute to pay the claim”.
Low patronage of marine insurance
Also speaking on the program was the Head of Underwriting at Serene Insurance who bemoaned the low patronage of marine insurance in the country. According to Mr. Kingsley Akuoku-Boakye, his company sells just around 500 policies per annum.
Like Mrs. Agyiri-Tettey, he also called for increased patronage of the company’s marine insurance policies. Also, he assured that his company is very efficient when it comes to the payment of claims. Mr. Akuoko-Boakye urged actors in the shipping industry to patronize both its marine hull and marine cargo insurance policies.
He explained that the “marine hull type insures the vessel against any damage to a vessel” that may result “from your fault”. On the other hand, “marine cargo protects the goods on the vessel”.
Furthermore, he pointed out that these policies are very comprehensive but also simple for ordinary businessmen to understand.
Moreover, the Executives at Serene Insurance further gave the assurance that they provide quality services at competitive, flexible rates. They added that customers have the right to negotiate the services to suit their needs.
Marine Insurance has become imperative for shipping worldwide from both the legal and business perspective. This type of insurance plays a critical role in international trade whose benefits are huge for all economies.
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