Seminar on oil and gas insurance opens

Accra (Greater Accra), 19th April ?99 ?

Ghana has undertaken to broaden the scope of underwriting insurance in the oil and gas industry as a means of spreading the risk involved. Mr Max Cobbina, Managing Director of Ghana Reinsurance Company, said the risk of underwriting insurance in oil and gas has been deemed to be enormous and the area is not known to many insurance companies.

Mr Cobbina was speaking at a two-day insurance seminar for 17 insurance managers, underwriters and other players in the insurance industry in Accra on Monday. Topics being treated include how to underwrite risks associated with exploratory activities, oil and gas production risks and claims handling.

Mr Cobbina noted that underwriting of any kind differs from one discipline to the other saying the skill for insurance underwriting in the oil and gas industry is not well known in Ghana. However, with increasing interest in the industry there is the need to make such knowledge available. Currently, only the State Insurance Company does underwriting in oil and gas.

Mr Cobbina said it is important to underwrite insurance policies that are acceptable in international circles, hence the need for such a seminar for participants to acquire knowledge in the area.

"In the past, policy on oil and gas was underwritten from outside the country. It is now necessary with the increasing activity in oil and gas exploration in Ghana and the West African belt to acquire skills in this area." Mr Daniel Adu Mensah, Managing Director of Metropolitan Insurance Company, said with the recent power crisis, Ghana has set its mind on finding alternative sources of power. "This involves dealing with complex risks and expertise which insurers realise is in short supply ... hence Ghana Reinsurance Company has taken the lead to expose insurance practitioners in the market to these complex risks associated with oil and gas insurance."