Ghana Insurers Association (GIA), under the auspices of the General Insurance Council (GIC), will hold the first-ever National General Insurance conference tomorrow, October 19, 2017.
The event, set to take place at the Labadi Beach Hotel, Accra, will be on the theme: “Transforming the General Insurance Industry through Self-Regulation, Financial Capacity and Business Innovation.”
The conference will have the Minister for Finance and Economic Planning, Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta, to deliver the keynote address.
It will be attended by delegates in the General Insurance industry, chief executives of insurance and allied industries, and officials from the National Insurance Commission (NIC), amongst others.
The objective of the annual conference is to create a national platform for discussing and addressing key issues that affect general insurance and to create awareness about general insurance among policy makers and other key institutions and stakeholders in the country.
President of GIA, Ms. Aretha Duku, said: “I look forward to fruitful discussions that would direct us as to how to fully utilise the benefits of self-regulation, improve our financial capacity and tap into the benefits associated with social media and technology.”
Commenting on the conference, Chairman of the General Insurance Council, Mr. Kwame Ofori, said: “This conference is a culmination of years of dreams and efforts by the General Insurance Council to tell the story of the impact of this line of insurance business on the lives and properties of individuals and on the country as a whole.”
He went on to reiterate that the conference theme was quite auspicious at this time in view of its focus on three thematic areas that have the potential of making the general insurance industry better.
“Self-regulation has become one of the most powerful tools for instilling discipline, promoting healthy competition and for avoiding stricter regulations in various industries worldwide.
The insurance industry in Ghana cannot be an exception. The benefits of self-regulation are obvious.
It can help us address a range of issues “from establishing industry standards, through developing and applying codes of professional ethics, to ensuring consumer confidence,” Mr. Ofori said.
After the opening ceremony, there will be speaker presentations, panel discussions and open fora on relevant topics pertaining to the main theme of the conference.
The main presentation will be given by the Chief Executive Officer of ICEA Lion General Insurance, Mr. Steven Oluoch, one of the most prominent general insurance companies in Nairobi, Kenya and the entire East Africa.
Other notable speakers will include Mr Justice Yaw Ofori, Insurance Commissioner; Ms. Aretha Duku, President of the Ghana Insurers Association and Mr. Kwame Ofori, Chairman of the General Insurance Council of the Ghana Insurers Association.
The insurance industry is typically divided into Life Insurance and Non-Life Insurance (also called General Insurance). Non-life or General Insurance is a policy that insures anything other than the risk to a person’s life.
General insurance provides protection against unforeseeable contingencies like damage and loss of assets. The different forms of general insurance are fire, marine, motor, accident and other miscellany of non-life insurance products.
General insurance serves as a useful mechanism for minimising the negative impact of catastrophes, emergencies, accidents and natural disasters on individuals and societies. Its usefulness in national development and global growth cannot be over-emphasised.
It is the fervent hope and expectation of the insurance industry in Ghana that the acquisition of different classes of general insurance among others, a mechanism for mitigating the various risks clients are exposed to on a daily basis would become a way of life of all Ghanaians.
Insurance
…with Kofi Owusu Tawiah
