Insurance Commissioner unveils NIC’s work plan

By Elliot WILLIAMS

Dr Abiba Zakariah, Ghana’s Insurance Commissioner and chief executive of the National Insurance Commission (NIC) has held her first detailed explanation of the insurance industry regulator’s work plan under her leadership. Meeting with four leading media houses at her office on Wednesday, Dr Zakariah stated that “Resetting Ghana’s insurance sector is our strategic focus” asserting that strengthening the industry is not just about financial security; it is about fostering trust, encouraging investment and unlocking long-term prosperity for the people of Ghana.

“In our resetting drive, the NIC is committed to building a more efficient, fairer, safer and more stable insurance market that promotes healthy competition and growth in the best interest of policy holders, including the largely untapped 80% of the informal sector” she asserted

To do this, the NIC is implementing a three-pronged strategy. The first focuses on insurance market sensitization.

“A critical step in driving sustainable growth in Ghana’s insurance industry is building trust”, explained Dr Zakariah. “To achieve this we must first identify and eliminate unethical practices within the market and provide clear, actionable recommendations to address them.”

This requires collaborating with industry to identify unethical practices and propose practical solutions as well as standardized rates and terms; implementing a Risk-Based Supervision  framework along with other enforcement tools; and launching a Customer Satisfaction Index to improve service delivery.

The second pillar addresses insurance market penetration. A committee has been set up towards this, tasked with conducting analyses and providing recommendations to expand insurance coverage.

Other initiatives being deployed by the NIC towards increasing market penetration include: “campus care” insurance demonstration centres on university campuses to raise insurance awareness and experience among students; collaborating with the informal sector to design insurance products specifically tailored for it; launching an Insurance Innovation Challenge which invites the public to co-create practical insurance solutions; establishing an Agricultural Insurance Fund to lower premium costs and risks for small-holder farmers; and exploring digital tools to enhance the NIC’s engagement with the public and the insurance industry.

The third pillar seeks to make Ghana an insurance hub in Africa. To achieve this the NIC is driving insurance dialogues, innovation, collaborations and funding across the continent to Ghana. The Commission has also initiated discussions on creating new insurance pools and expanding the operations of the Ghana Oil and Gas Insurance Pool (GOGIP) and the Ghana Agricultural Insurance Pool (GAIP) to other African countries to draw external income. Also, NIC is pursuing the creation and hosting of an African insurance rating agency to enhance the sector’s credibility and competitiveness within the continent.

Dr Zakariah revealed that NIC has already held sessions with executives of the transport unions and Informal Workers Association towards designing insurance products that will meet their peculiar needs.  The industry regulator has also already hosted the Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) Africa Conference in Ghana.

“We are also working on strengthening the enforcement of existing compulsory insurance policies, including motor third party insurance, marine cargo insurance for commercial imports, commercial property insurance, professional indemnity and public liability insurance” Dr Zakariah assured. “Stakeholder consultations have been held and implementation plans are underway.”

Before being appointed Ghana’s Insurance Commissioner earlier this year, by President John Dramani Mahama, Dr Zakariah was the Chief Operating Officer of WAICA Re, the reinsurance company owned by the West African Insurance Companies Association.

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