Sekondi, March 3 GNA- Mr. Peter Ansah, Takoradi Area Manager of the State Insurance Company (SIC) on Tuesday advised women entrepreneurs to insure their businesses to enable them to recover cost in the event of fire outbreaks, theft and other disasters.
He gave the advice at a one-day workshop on fire prevention and insurance for members of women organizations, organized by the National Council on Women and Development (NCWD) in Sekondi.
Mr. Ansah said many women entrepreneurs do not bother to insure their businesses, but added that this could result in huge financial loss to them when their businesses were affected by fire or other disasters.
He said the SIC has many insurance policies that are favourable to women, and the company is in the process of fashioning out insurance policies targeted at women particularly petty traders.
Mr. Ansah said the company is implementing a new insurance policy for women on pilot basis in Accra, and this would be extended to other areas when it becomes successful.
Station Officer Bernard Williams of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) who spoke on causes of fire outbreaks, asked traders at the markets to switch off all electrical gadgets and pull the plugs from the sockets, and to extinguish live fire used for cooking before they leave the market.
He also advised parents against allowing their children to play with candles, matches and lighters in the home as this could result in fire outbreaks.
Station Officer Williams urged the public to position cylinders for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) outside the kitchen permanently or when cooking to prevent fire outbreaks and to check the cylinders at least every two weeks for leakages.
Miss Akua Ansah-Ashon, Regional Coordinator of NCWD said many insurance policies are not favourable to women and called on insurance companies to design policies to suit women's activities. She said the objective of the workshop was to educate women on fire prevention and encourage them to take insurance policies to protect themselves and their businesses.
