NIC, UNDP’s IRFF takes business insurance awareness to market women and artisans in Asutsuare

The Insurance Awareness Coordinators Group, under the National Insurance Commission (NIC) and supported by the United Nations Development Programme’s Insurance and Risk Finance Facility (UNDP’sIRFF), has kicked start an awareness campaign programme aimed at promoting insurance for Small and Medium Enterprises(SMEs) business people in the informal sector of the economy.

The initiative is part of the Commission’s broader innovative inclusive insurance drive to provide access to insurance solutions that protect against risks such as flooding, storms, and product damages.

According to the NIC, the goal of this campaign is to encourage individuals in the informal sector to enrol in specific insurance programmes that would provide financial support in times of crisis.

The latest awareness programme was started on Wednesday, September 11, 2024, at Asutsuare in the Shai Osu-Doku District of the Eastern Region, where leaders from the Market Women Association, Tailors/Dressmakers Association, Drivers, Wood Traders and Barbers Association participated.

The women's group was represented by Acting Market Queen, Madam Linda Tetteh and Mercy Guamah, while the tailors and dressmakers were led by Evans Agbeko, Patience Aggrey, the founder Simon Gyiwonu.

Dr. Amina Sammo, the UNDP representative on the Insurance and Risk Finance Facility (IRFF), explained that business insurance is different from typical life and non-life insurance such as the National Health Insurance, motor and property insurance.

"Business insurance is specifically designed for people in the informal sector to protect their goods against unforeseen events," she stated.

She emphasized that this type of insurance helps to avoid situations where accidents and disasters such as floods and fire result in significant financial losses to the traders and artisans.

She further noted that when market women understand the benefits of business insurance, they are less likely to rely on organizations such as NADMO and other government institutions after incidents like fires or floods.

Instead, they can activate their insurance claims to cover the losses.

The awareness campaign is aimed at equipping leaders of various associations with the necessary knowledge to ask relevant questions when insurance brokers approach them with their products.

The programme's focus is to educate these leaders on how insurance works, how to initiate claims, and the benefits of having business insurance, especially for market women and artisans, she further noted.

According to her, the target is to ensure that businesses within the informal sector are insured within a period ranging from a few months up to five years.

Dr. Sammo also reminded participants that they have the flexibility to change their insurance policy if they are not satisfied with the provider at the end of any existing tenure.

Representing the NIC, Kofi Akoto described the event as an initial briefing session for association leaders.

After this briefing, the leaders will be tasked with selecting 15 members to attend a "train the trainer" programme at the NIC headquarters, which will take place before the introduction of the insurance brokers’ visit to the members of the various associations.