MTN to grow insurance industry

Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, Ebenezer Twum Asante, has stated that the telecom company is ready to partner with insurance companies to leverage technological innovations that will boost the growth of the insurance industry in Ghana.

He revealed this when he gave a speech as guest speaker at the 8th Cedants Awards Night on the theme, “Embracing Technological Innovations for the Growth of the Insurance Industry,” in Accra.

According to him, technology has taken centre stage in driving business models, products and service delivery in a way that businesses cannot avoid.

“Technology has become pervasive because it affords spontaneity, has low marginal cost to serve and enable intelligence-based service delivery. These are important ingredients in today’s world where consumers, corporates and even machines are as connected as never before... It is time for our two industries to collaborate further for expanded technological innovations to provide fast, convenient, efficient and inclusive insurance services,” he stated.

The MTN Ghana CEO’s call comes in the face of myriad challenges technology has posed to insurance companies the world over. In a 2014 PWC Global CEO Survey Report, about 60% of insurance CEOs indicated they were concerned that the current speed of technological change is a threat to their businesses. This may be because according to the same survey, fewer than 40% of insurance companies indicated they had determined exactly what they had to do to meet the challenges of technological upgrades required.

Mr. Twum Asante urged regulators in the insurance industry to lead the formulation of policies and reforms that would enable insurance companies to take advantage of technology in the insurance space. He stated that, “The industry regulator must take the lead in initiating the needed reforms to accommodate pervasive use of technology to drive insurance penetration, bearing in mind pertinent matters like security, appropriate legal framework and customer protection among others.”

Within the insurance space, MTN has collaborated with a number of companies to offer innovative insurance products. An example is MTNs partnership with AYO to offer a mobile insurance platform. The service was launched in May 2017, and in the space of three months, acquired 13,000 subscribers by August.

The Ghana Reinsurance Awards, known as the Cedants Awards Night, was established eight years ago to recognise local insurance companies for their diligent effort, loyalty and support for Ghana Reinsurance and the industry in general.