Life Insurance To Become Compulsory

Lena Adu-Kofi, Executive Member of Ghana Insurance Brokers Association, says steps are being taken to make life insurance compulsory in Ghana.

This, she said, is to ensure that people are insured in the country irrespective of their employment status.

Ms Adu-Kofi, who revealed this to BUSINESS GUIDE, said “we are going to make life insurance compulsory, and not only for public workers but industry workers and professional bodies.”

She said a proposal has been sent to the National Insurance Commission (NIC), which is expected to be incorporated into the revised insurance law before it is presented to Parliament for consideration and subsequent passage.

“If we do not make this compulsory, many employers out there would not care about their workers. We will also make sure that there are penalties for those who flout the law,” Ms Adu-Kofi said.

She said Ghana is trying to emulate the Nigeria example, explaining that in Nigeria if four people work for an employer, that employer has the obligation to provide life insurance for them.

“Over here what we are seeking to do is even more comprehensive. We want to expand the workman compensation law,” she added.

However, she said there are some limitations in the current insurance law.

“We want to ensure that there is a law that ensure that here is 24/7 compulsory life insurance cover for everybody. Some of the benefit will be that people who will contract deadly diseases will also benefit from insurance,” Ms Adu-Kofi said.

Insurance Brokers Services
She urged Ghanaians to engage the services of insurance brokers to ensure prompt payment of claims, adding that the services of the insurance broker are free.

Insurance brokers assist the clients to purchase the right policy at the right premium from the right company, assist the clients to get genuine claims promptly and assist the clients to negotiate terms upon renewal of policies, he declared.

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By Cephas Larbi