Justice Peprah Agyei, Interim President, CPCU Society, West Africa
The West Africa Chartered Property Underwriter (CPCU) Society Chapter, an affiliate of the Institutes’ CPCU Society, an international organization with headquarters in the USA, organized a day-long seminar in Accra recently. The society's objective is to promote ethical standards in insurance practice.
The Acting Commissioner of Insurance, Mr. Michael K. Andoh, who was the Special Guest of Honour, advised players in the insurance industry to desist from "premium undercutting" to help sustain the insurance industry.
Premium undercutting is the practice where an insurance company offers clients "unrealistically low premiums" in order to gain a competitive advantage over others, often below the acceptable rate limits set by the insurance regulator, the NIC.
According to him, premium undercutting remains a challenge to the insurance industry and denies it the necessary funds to develop.
Mr. Andoh gave this advice during a day-long seminar organized by the West Africa Chartered Property Underwriter (CPCU) Society Chapter.
Mr. Andoh said premium undercutting was against the ethics and standards of the insurance industry.
Though he could not give figures on how much undercutting costs the insurance industry, he said it was one of the reasons some insurance companies recorded underwriting losses.
The Acting Commissioner of Insurance stated that the seminar discussed technology, new trends, challenges, and opportunities in the insurance industry.
He said the low insurance penetration in the country was a result of the low adoption of technology and the failure on the part of some insurance practitioners to adhere to the standards of the profession.
The Global President of CPCU Society, Traci Adedeji, in her remarks, said the CPCU Society was established 80 years ago to promote professionalism and ethical standards in the insurance industry.
She said the Ghana chapter was established in October 2023 to promote the insurance industry in Ghana.
Ms. Adedeji urged practitioners in the insurance industry to build trust, pointing out that trust was crucial for the development of the insurance industry.
She encouraged insurance practitioners to prioritize the needs of customers above their interests.
The Senior Director, Analyst Gartner Inc, USA, Rajesh Narayan, in his remarks, urged players in the insurance industry to embrace technology.
He said technology was not meant to displace them from their jobs, but to help them become more efficient and reach more customers.
Justice Peprah Agyei, West Africa CPCU Society Chapter Interim President, in his address, said the association was established to elevate insurance practice in the sub-region.
He also mentioned that the association was created to facilitate networking and promote innovation in the insurance industry.
