Nashiru Iddrisu
HOLLARD LIFE Assurance, in partnership with Cassava Fintech and Vodafone, has launched a micro-insurance product providing funeral and disability cover to the underserved.
The insurance product, called ‘MeBanbɔ’, translated ‘My Protection’, can be easily accessed via mobile phone by dialing *269#.
‘MeBanbɔ’ offers tailored packages of GH¢1,000, GH¢5,000, GH¢15,000 and GH¢30,000 funeral and disability cover for premiums as low as GH¢1, GH¢5, GH¢15 and GH¢30 respectively. It is the first micro-insurance product of its kind offering packages that suit different personal needs. It is open to persons older than 18 years who use the Vodafone mobile network.
Patience Akyianu, Group CEO of Hollard Ghana, the parent company of Hollard Life Assurance, described the launch of MeBanbɔ as a significant milestone in the business’ quest to enable more people to create and secure a better future.
Ms. Akyianu said, “Our business goals are tied to our purpose to ensure access to insurance as a social good and an enabler of better futures. We make it a point to be a catalyst for enduring change by providing insurance products that serve the needs of our customers. MeBanbɔ is a prime example of this, and we are proud to bring it to market in partnership with Cassava Fintech and Vodafone Cash.”
Nashiru Iddrisu, Managing Director of Hollard Life, said, “We developed MeBanbɔ after engaging with potential customers in underserved markets who expressed interest in securing their financial well-being against unexpected incidences, such as funerals and disability.
“However, they also revealed a reluctance to sign up for traditional life insurance products because of the seemingly unaffordable premium amounts, modes of payment and claims collection process. MeBanbɔ eases these concerns. It is made for them, affording everyone the opportunity to plan their future well-being simply via mobile money, in amounts that suit their pockets and with an equally simple claims process,” Iddrisu said.
MeBanbɔ is currently available via Vodafone Cash and made possible through a partnership with Vodafone. Head of Vodafone Cash, Martison Obeng-Agyei, said, “Our decision to partner the MeBanbɔ Insurance initiative was intuitive because this is yet another example of an innovative and affordable insurance product for Ghanaians.’’
In a statement, Godwin Mashiri, Head of Cassava Fintech International’s Mobile Insurance Business, the platform provider for MeBanbɔ, said, “We are very excited to be a part of this partnership with Hollard Life Assurance to launch MeBanbɔ in Ghana.”