Case Study

The availability of different types of insurance policies that cover lives, properties and businesses make it virtually possible for every individual to insure either themselves or their assets against future risks. This gives the individual the assurance that there is a guaranteed financial compensation from the insurance company in case there is any form of loss incurred by the insurer.
To the benefit of Ghana’s economy, the Insurance sector is considered one of the relevant established businesses that is able to generate substantial profit every year. Even though the prominence of insurance is generally low in Ghana, this sector still plays an important factor in the country’s economy which allows individuals to be guarded against unforeseen circumstances. In Ghana, there are four types of regulated insurance companies namely the Life Insurance, Non-life Insurance, Composite and Re-insurance companies. As at the end of the year 2017, there were 139 regulated insurance entities operating in Ghana with a population of about 28.9million. The uptake of insurance against the population had a positive relationship with the increasing population growing at a 2.2% rate. Significantly, by the end of 2017, about 30% of Ghana’s population had an insurance cover with the various regulated insurance entities.

The general awareness and poor perception about the operations of insurance companies has been some of the major challenges the industry faces. In view of this, a pilot awareness campaign was launched in four regions in Ghana to increase the insurance penetration in the country in fulfillment of the four-year strategic plan by the National Insurance Commission in the year 2017. To protect the interests of insurance policyholders, a regulatory policy has been introduced in response to the developments in the financial landscape whereby the National Insurance Company has proposed a new capital requirement in 2017 respective to all Insurance entities which was agreed on after a series of consultation with the various stakeholders. According to the regulator, this new increment will help the insurance companies absorb industry risks to ensure a strong insurance industry. The scope of this study therefore covers specifically the life and non-life insurance industries in Ghana.