By Deborah Asantewaah SARFO
MTN Mobile Money (Momo) Limited, in partnership with aYo Ghana and SanlamAllianz, has introduced a new insurance policy for all MTN mobile money agents across the country.
This initiative seeks to offer support or relief for the agent in an incidence of hospitalisation or disability – and surviving family in the unfortunate event of an agent’s demise.
The scheme’s improved version was introduced in 2020, covering permanent and total disability benefits, temporary and total disability, critical illness, accident medical benefits, hospitalisation benefits and death benefits.
This has become necessary as attacks on agents by armed robbers continue to heighten, causing the death of many agents and three others at different locations in one month this year.
According to the Chief Sales and Distribution Officer at MTN, Samuel Addo, the new insurance policy provides greater coverage for agents and offers a reliable safety net for them and their families.
He added that the partnership emphasises their pledge to protect all agents, adding that they will collaborate with security authorities to improve their agents’ safety.
“This partnership reinforces our commitment to protect and empower our MoMo agents. Beyond the insurance cover, we will also continue working with the relevant stakeholders to improve security and ensure a holistic approach to our intervention,” he said.
Chief Commercial and Operations Officer-MTN Mobile Money Limited, Abdul Razak Ali, indicated that MTN has paid a one-year premium of not less than GH¢500,000 for agents and assured that there will always be some form of insurance policy for agents.
He noted that “agents do not have to pay anything. It is free” – but will have to make payment if they want extra cover from other partners of the scheme.
For his part, Chief Executive Officer-SanlamAllianz Life Insurance Ghana, Tawiah Ben-Ahmed, explained that the policy is a group insurance whereby one insurance policy covers a whole lot of people – and in this case, the MTN MoMo agents.
He emphasised that the insurance scheme is a partnership and collaboration – with aYo providing intermediary services, MTN as a policyholder and his outfit as an underwriter. He added that they are committed to paying the claims resulting from valid claims submitted.
Chief Executive Officer-aYo Intermediaries Ghana Limited, Francis Gota, encouraged agents to be serious with insurance and take advantage of the offer, stressing that insurance “is not just about today, it is about protecting your families tomorrow”.
The Director of Operations, Research and Implementation for Mobile Money Advocacy Group Ghana, expressed excitement about the initiative and indicated measures they intend to take in sending the message across to their members.
He added that while managing finance is important, closing early is also crucial – urging agents to be conscious of their safety.
All partners of the insurance scheme took turns to express their condolences to families of the mobile money agents who lost their lives.
