METCare Sankofa health insurance plan is launched in UK

The METCare Sankofa Health Insurance Plan, dubbed the "SHIP", has been launched in London, UK.

The METCare SHIP, which was developed by Metropolitan Insurance Company Ghana Limited in collaboration with Tristar Financial Services - both Ghana based financial institutions, would be operated in the UK by Goldcare UK Limited.

Under the scheme, subscribers in the UK can insure a dependant resident in Ghana at a monthly premium of ?15, while the underwriters agree to meet claims up to a maximum of 10m cedis for outpatient services and 25m cedis for any admission in any private or public health institution in Ghana. As an added attraction, UK policyholders and their spouses would also be entitled to a month’s health insurance cover while in Ghana during the year.

Setting the tone for the launch, Nana Otuo Acheampong – lecturer in finance at the University of Portsmouth, who chaired the event, recounted the premium placed on the health of the nation by President Kufuor, who said in a recent the state of the nation address that “the overriding aim of the government is to have a healthy nation, because it is only when the people are healthy that they can work to grow the economy and improve upon their quality of life. Thus a healthy nation is a wealthy nation”. Acheampong said the case for a national insurance system has been made and thus the METCare’s SHIP is a worthy project.

On his part, Daniel Aidoo-Mensah, Chief Executive of Metropolitan Insurance Company said since its establishment in 1997, the company has kept faith with its clients by introducing a number of customised products including universal life insurance, Met Gold Plan, dedicated Saving and Investment Plan for Moslems, Met Labbaika Plan and the Health Insurance Scheme – METCare.

The METCare SHIP, the CEO explained, has currently recorded over 75,000 subscribers drawn from corporate organisations, diplomatic missions and private individuals. "The facility which is currently operating and enjoying a high degree of popularity in the US market, covers payment for general and specialist consultation, drugs, surgical treatment, diagnostic test, hospital accommodation as well as dental and optical care" declared the Chief Executive.

Aidoo-Mensah said the absence of a comprehensive social insurance policy in Ghana had placed the financial burden of caring for the less fortunate members of the society on Ghanaian residents abroad and stressed that the METCare SHIP provided a convenient and effective medium for the discharge of this scared responsibility.

Dr. Yaw Oppong, head of METCare took his turn to elaborate on the benefits and opportunities that accrue to the policy holder of the METCare SHIP. Launching the scheme on behalf of His Excellency Isaac Osei, Ghana's High Commissioner to the UK, Peter Yankey - Minister/Welfare & Consular Affairs at the Ghana mission, noted that radical reforms initiated by the NPP government to revamp the health sector in Ghana reflected the high priority the government placed on the health needs of all Ghanaians.

He said the government of Ghana would deliver on its pledge to Ghanaians regarding implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme when the bill on the scheme, which has been piloted successfully in some districts of the country, is passed by Parliament later in the year.

Yankey praised the ingenious and pioneering role played by the Metropolitan Insurance Company in the provision of private health insurance and for "identifying and designing a unique product tailored specifically to respond to a very pressing need confronting Ghanaians living in the diaspora".

He observed that such insurance schemes had become an indispensable facility in the contemporary life in Ghana where the safety net previously provided by the extended family system for its disadvantaged members had been severely eroded by rapid urbanisation and globalisation.

He urged Ghanaians resident in the UK to embrace the METCare SHIP to ensure the success of the scheme and expressed the hope that other Ghanaian companies would emulate the example of Metropolitan insurance company in churning out more innovative products.

Present at the launch were Asante Marfo-Ahenkora, Managing Director of Tristar Financial Services; Ray Sowah, Manager of Retail Banking at the Ghana International Bank, Kwabena Fosu-Mensah and Olivia Anaman – both of Goldcare UK Limited.

Others dignitaries included Alhaji Ahmed Jumah, Chief Imam of the Ghanaian Moslem community in the UK, Rev. James Enin of the Ghana Catholic Chaplaincy, John Watson, Chief Executive of 3 Diamonds Limited and Charles Wereko of the Ghana High Commission.