Innovative solutions must be developed to expand insurance coverage, penetration – NIC

Acting Commissioner of Insurance at the NIC, Micheal Andoh, has called on insurance technology firms to development innovative solutions to address challenges impeding insurance services delivery.

According to him, this is critical to expand insurance penetration and coverage, while providing services.

The acting NIC boss cited instances in the difficulty in acquiring police and doctor’s report to claim insurance, as well as accessing to insurance services in remote parts of the country.

Addressing journalists on the sidelines of a forum organised to discuss the new Insurance Act and Innovations in Accra, Micheal Andoh said these aforementioned challenges must be addressed to enhance prompt claim payment and cost of the insurance.

He added that the deployment of technology could also reduce the cost of accessing insurance and serves as a lever to reach a lot of the citizens with insurance.

“Through digital technology, insurance could be sold to people where insurance companies could not go and the objective of the forum is to expose the insurance technology companies to the operations and solutions which would be needed to boost the industry,” he said.

The acting NIC boss added that the outfit currently has developed a sandbox to help insurance technology companies to share their ideas and insights.

“Under the sandbox, the NIC had offered two temporal licence, such as Insurers Innovative Licence, for a period of two years to help insurance technology companies to test their insurance technology products,” he disclosed.

Head of Financial Market and Innovation Unit of the Ministry of Finance, Benjamin Torsah-Klu, on his part, lauded the NIC for organising the forum as it provides a cutting-edge intended to create a platform for the industry to leverage technology and innovation across the insurance ecosystem for the transformation of the market.

“Government would continue to provide the enabling environment for digitalisation and innovation in order to reduce financial vulnerability. Income inequality and the huge risk protection gap,” he stated.

In addition, the Principal in charge of Innovation and Resilience of FSD Africa, Elias Omondi, said the objective of the FSD Africa was to deepen insurance penetration in Africa, particularly in Ghana.

“Our role is how to create the large-scale change within the financial market in Africa and Ghana holds a special dispensation in insurance in Africa,” he added.

The forum was held on the theme; “The New Insurance Act: Unlocking the Insurance Industry Potential via Innovative Technology.”

It was organised by the National Insurance Commission (NIC) in partnership with Financial Sector Deepening Africa and Myfig.

MA/AE

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