The Upper West Regional Manager of the National Insurance Commission (NIC), Mr Frederick Boakye-Yiadom has urged the general public, especially the informal sector, to sign in to micro-insurance schemes to cushion themselves against unforeseen circumstances.
He said life and human settlement were not devoid of unforeseen happenings and should be insured against such eventualities.
Mr Boakye-Yiadom said this on Tuesday, February 14, 2023, on Info Radio's late afternoon show, Ti Zine Yiri Yele.
The NIC Manager said the micro-insurance framework is in the efforts of the government to ensure financial inclusivity among all Ghanaians including the informal sector.
He said the people in the informal sector were mostly left with no insurance and protection schemes as mainstream insurance schemes mainly target medium to high-income and regular salary-earning people.
Following the launch of the collaborative NIC-GIZ (German Development Corporation) micro-insurance awareness campaign in October 2022 to introduce traders, drivers, petty traders, and the self-employed to the benefits of micro-insurance, Mr Boakye-Yiadom said the feedback has been encouraging.
He disclosed that available statistics have indicated that more than 8.3 million people have signed up for one micro-insurance policy or the other since the NIC started designing framework and licensing the sale of micro- insurance products.
He has, however, impressed upon the public to necessarily acquire micro-insurance products saying, it gives confidence to life in a setting where the future is unknown.
He said micro-insurance is important because it ensures financial inclusiveness, provides protection for people in the untapped sector and prevents micro-businesses from running into bankruptcy whenever the unexpected happens.
He added that micro-insurance, relatively, does not involve rigorous processes in proving and making claims when policies mature as it just requires an attestation from an opinion leader.
On motor insurance, Mr Boakye-Yiadom said it is compulsory for motor vehicle owners to secure third-party insurance for their assets against incidences that involve third-party liabilities.
He encouraged vehicles to ensure that acquire the required insurance and license documents such as insurance, driver’s license and roadworthy certificate before putting the vehicles to use.
He also advised the public and passengers to check to be sure that the vehicles they board possess the required documents before patronizing them.
Mr Boakye-Yiadom noted at the NIC has created a tracking system to fish out dubious and Ponzi insurance schemes out of the system and that customers should check with the NIC before joining any.
Comments