Insurance law under review

The State Insurance Company (SIC) on Friday said its corporate laws were under review to bring them in consonance with the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) for confidence to be generated in Ghana's insurance business.

To that effect the PNDC Law 227 was being reviewed and also to ensure that the operations of insurance companies in the country could lead to greater mobilization of funds for national development.

It said when more internal funds were generated government could borrow from it to undertake development projects leading more employment avenues while the holders of insurance policies would be assured of qualitative benefits.

Mr Franklin Owusu Asafo-Adjei, Deputy Managing Director of SIC lecturing a group of journalists at a two-day workshop on the operations of the Company said the draft bill on the review of the insurance laws was with the Attorney-General's Department for fine-tuning before it was submitted to Parliament.

He told the journalists at the workshop that they should upgrade their knowledge on the operations of insurance companies and the need for them to educate the public on the benefits of insurance policies.

It was important for the public to know how insurance affected their lives and the protection and development it could give to them.

Mr Asfo-Adjei said insurance was the main terms of the economy, in that it generated funds such as from life, motor and fire accidents and educational policy holders, which, when accumulated could be invested in the national economy.

That could lead to lending to businesses, which could expand and employ more workers with the consequent increase in the economies of scale.

He said those claimants who used forged documents with the connivance of some doctors, policemen and lawyers would always be found out through the enhanced investigation methods by the SIC.

"Those false practices were dangerous because when such people could not get their ways through they turned round to scare genuine prospective policy holders to enjoy the benefits of insurance", Mr Asafo-Adjei added.