In commemoration of the National Microinsurance Day, the National Insurance Commission (NIC), in collaboration with the German International Corporation (GIZ), yesterday, launched the new regulatory regime for micro insurance.
The occasion was also used to present the insurance industry with various tools for the implementation of micro insurance in Ghana as well as launch a book entitled �Promoting micro insurance in Ghana� which seeks to identify best practices and offer concrete recommendations on the way forward for micro insurance in Ghana.
In a welcome address, Mrs Nyamikeh Kyiamah, Commissioner of Insurance at the Ghana Micro insurance Commission indicated that appropriately designed insurance products provided an indispensible tool to manage the risk of sudden financial shocks, especially those that could not be fully covered by savings or risk sharing arrangement.
The commissioner lamented that access to insurance services in Ghana were very limited, especially amongst the low-income population, adding that only 4.1 per cent of the total adult population held any form of insurance policy in 2010 which excluded health insurance.
She stated that the insurance sector comprised 43 companies whose combined gross premium amounted to 1.89 percent of Ghana�s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2010.
According to Mrs, Kyiamah, the Ghana insurance market had, in recent times, been growing rapidly with more insurers and intermediaries seeking to expand their services to the informal sector and to the lower income population.
In an address, Mrs Yevone Quansah, Director for the Financial Sector Division of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP) disclosed that a survey conducted in the year 2010 indicated that the main risks faced by Ghanaians in terms of income included illness, loss of business and drought, especially for rural dwellers and theft.
Mrs Quansah expressed worry about the recent fire outbreaks that had occurred in the country, noting that the unpreparedness of the victims necessitated the need to embrace the concept of insurance.
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