By Elliot WILLIAMS
The regulatory institution of Ghana’s insurance industry, the National Insurance Commission (NIC) has a new Governing Board.
The reconstituted board, appointed by the recently installed President John Dramani Mahama administration was inaugurated at a short ceremony presided over by Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem, who administered the Oaths of Office and Secrecy on behalf of the Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson.
The reconstituted Board comprises seven members – five men and two women – who now have a mandate to enhance the regulation of Ghana’s insurance industry and ensure that the NIC operates with the fullest efficiency, effectiveness and transparency, with the ultimate objective of engendering increased public confidence in the industry with a view to increasing the penetration of the industry in Ghana which is still below two percent excluding micro-insurance.
The new Board is chaired by Christopher Boadi-Mensah, who is also the CEO of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority. The recently installed new Insurance Commissioner – who is the CEO of the NIC – Dr Abiba Zakariah, is one of the two women on it, the other being Ms Jean-Marie Formadi, a Member of Parliament who is a presidential nominee.
The other members are David Klotey Collison, Coordinating Director of the Ministry of Finance; Emmanuel Amofa of the Ghana Bar Association; Matthew Kwaku Atta Aidoo, representing the Insurance Industry Trade Bodies; and Simon Akibange Aworigo, who is the other presidential nominee.
The new Board is expected to focus its efforts on enhancing the NIC’s regulatory oversight and monitoring capacities, ensuring compliance with the industry’s professional, financial and customer service established standards, and increasing public understanding of the benefits and importance of insurance, to achieve greater patronage of the industry.
In particular, the Board will be expected to encourage inclusive access to insurance (through micro-insurance among other initiatives) ensure that insurance firms are financially solid to conduct their business and use technology to improve service delivery, through insure-tech.
Swearing in the Board members, Ampem underscored the critical role the NIC plays in ensuring the stability and growth of Ghana’s insurance industry.
He urged the newly sworn in Board to prioritize regulatory reform, transparency and inclusivity, while making the insurance industry more accessible to all.
He called on the members to: “Continue to drive the reforms that will increase consumer trust and expand insurance coverage across Ghana.”
Responding, the new Board Chairman assured of members commitment to strengthening the NIC’s regulatory frameworks, improving industry standards and fostering collaboration with stakeholders.
“Our mission is to ensure that the NIC operates in a manner that benefits all Ghanaians, promotes innovation in the industry and upholds global best practices in regulation and consumer protection” he affirmed.
The new Board has assumed office at a time that Ghana’s insurance industry is grappling with the stubborn problem of premium undercutting which threatens the financial solidity of the culprit underwriters and therefore their ability to pay genuine claims as and when due.
On the other hand, though the industry recently completed a major recapitalization exercise that has greatly enhanced the financial muscle of both life and non-life insurers, as well as the reinsurance companies that take up a significant proportion of the risks that insurers underwrite.
The NIC’s Board will also need to enforce the compulsory local underwriting of risks associated with marine cargo destined for Ghana, which has the potential to stem an erstwhile major source of unlawful foreign exchange outflows to foreign insurers from importers in Ghana, while providing a huge source of revenues for local insurance companies in the country.
