Travellers can now subscribe for ¢400 insurance cover via WhatsApp

Management of Old Mutual Health Insurance has launched an innovative local travel accident policy that allows subscribers to apply for cover through social media platform, WhatsApp.

The product is an ‘on-demand’ travel accident policy that provides pay as you go cover for individual road journeys from city to city in Ghana by public transport.

The aim of the product is to provide an immediate benefit to users when it is needed the most.

Head of marketing and Operations at Old Mutual, Rita Adu Boateng said anybody is eligible.

“Once you are 18 and above, you can buy the insurance cover. If you are a parent and you’re travelling with younger children, you can also buy it for them. Foreigners can also buy the cover insurance once they have an ID,” she added.

She added: “All you need to do is pay 3 cedis through mobile money on all networks. Once you have paid, you are automatically covered for the entire duration of the journey”.

Ms Boateng was confident the Ghanaian public will embrace WhatsApp as a convenient and trusted method for purchasing insurance due to the benefits that one stands to gain.

“In the event that the unexpected happens and there is an accident, you are entitled to accidental injury claim of 400 cedis. In the event of death, 1,000 cedis will be paid to your next of kin” he she explained.

The Marketing manager explained further that once there is an accidental injury, “all you have to do is to go back to the WhatsApp platform, type hi and then select the claim option.

“We will verify the accident and within 48 hours you will get your payment. In the event of death, we will be notified by the bus terminal that you took.

The Insurance Act prescribes that once a car is insured its occupants by extension are also guaranteed unlimited medical expenses in the event of an accident, she said.

The cover, she noted, also affords an opportunity for the driver to be rated to help ensure safety on our roads.

Statistics from the National Road Safety Commission show that four people die daily on Ghanaian roads due to road accidents.

Estimates show that Ghana loses over 230 million dollars yearly due to road accidents with more than 600 deaths.

Old Mutual believes that what is needed is an insurance policy that is simple to apply for and claim on no long forms or waiting times whether someone having to travel.