Penetrate the informal sector to remain in business

General Manager of NSIA Insurance, Samuel Adoteye- Asare, has urged insurance companies to be more innovative in order to penetrate the informal sector of the economy.

He said this will help insurance companies to increase their market share as against the current situation of all of them competing for clients from the formal sector workers.

“If the economy is challenged, the insurance industry, just as other industries, is also challenged as most of our clients are from the manufacturing, service and industry sectors of the economy who feel the harsh impact of the economy.

“So it is very important for insurance companies to look at the informal sector and bring innovative products to attract them to expand their clientele base,” he said.

The insurer also called for the diversification of the economy and the stabilisation of the local currency to make key sectors of the economy such as manufacturing, service and industry to pick-up to boost the insurance business.

He said the practice where some companies undercut premiums to gain customers is not best practice as it is gradually crippling the growth of the industry and affecting solvency and ability to pay claims. He urged players to deist from it and develop innovative products that are tailor-made for customers.

“If you undercut you charge a lower premium for a higher risk so you are not able to raise enough to pay claims and this bring about loss of confidence in the industry.”

He called on industry players to intensify the campaign of educating the public to understand the policies of their products to inform customers’ decisions to go for the right insurance policies.

“Low penetration of insurance is as a result of limited knowledge of the general public about insurance. As practitioners, we have not educated the public well and this has also resulted in the seeming loss of confidence in the insurance industry because people have had bad experiences with the industry,” he said.

“At NSIA Insurance we are doing our best to educate the public while selling our products. We try to educate them about the products as well as the policy details and tell them how it works, and the processes one can use to get his claims.

“Before we give you the policy, we explain and give you the terms of the policy so when an event occurs you will know whether you are entitled to a claim or not,” he added.

In Ghana, the National Insurance Commission (NIC) has begun the implementation of a number of policies in a bid to boost confidence and trust to grow the industry. Among others, the regulator has been championing micro-insurance – which targets low-income economic sectors – as a strategy to improve penetration and is currently working on a new industry law that takes cognizance of this little explored area.

It has also been trying to boost confidence through policies to strengthen claims-payment capacity of insurers. Since April 2014, it has been implementing a “No premium, No Cover” policy that prohibits the sale of insurance on credit. The NIC’s objective is to enable cash-strapped insurers promptly respond to claims – at least within a month when they fall due and all necessary documentations submitted.

Mr. Adoteye-Asare said NSIA Insurance Ghana is well-positioned to increase its market share, being the most solvent insurer currently on the market with over 660% solvency ratio as at July 2016. NSIA Insurance Ghana recently launched an online communication campaign, “Insurance Made Easy” to help demystify insurance for its clients and the general public, whilst bringing the real value of insurance to the fore.

NSIA Insurance Ghana is a non-life insurer, and a member of the NSIA GROUPE, headquartered in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire, with presence in 12 West and Central African countries. There are 26 subsidiaries in Life, Health and General Insurance, Banking, Finance and Real Estates.