Tax on insurance premiums will discourage interest from Ghanaians - CIIG president laments

The President of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Ghana (CIIG), Solomon Lartey, has expressed his displeasure over the removal of exemption for non-life insurance products, which will result in a 21.9% value-added tax (VAT) on insurance premiums.

He made these remarks during an exclusive interview with GhanaWeb Business, where he said the removal will adversely affect the insurance industry.

According to him, the insurance sector already has a low penetration rate of less than 2% in Ghana.

He said Ghanaians are aware of the benefits of insurance, but are deterred by the cost of premiums.

“The thing is that insurance penetration in Ghana is quite low. It's less than 2%, but insurance coverage is around 35%. So that should tell you that Ghanaians are not naïve… Ghanaians want insurance, but sometimes the cost.

“So if something that you are trying to make available to everybody and now you impose a tax of such magnitude on it, then it's a problem.

“… we cannot tax insurance premium. It is not right. It makes the work very difficult for we, the insurance, and for the buyers of insurance,” he expressed.

ID/AE

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