Seth Aklasi, CEO, Donewell Insurance
Seth Aklasi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Donewell Insurance Company Limited, has called on the National Insurance Commission (NIC) to provide timelines and details needed to raise the minimum capital in the insurance sector in Ghana to help the various companies to prepare adequately.
Currently, the minimum capital for insurance companies in Ghana is $3.5 million compared to other West African countries whose minimum capital stands at about $8.5 million.
Ghana’s insurance regulator has hinted on many platforms that it is considering an increase in the minimum capital required to set up an insurance company.
Speaking in an interview at the just-ended Donewell Insurance’s 25th Anniversary Symposium on current issues and trends in Ghana’s insurance industry, Mr. Aklasi stressed the need for the insurance commission to provide timelines and modalities for an increase in the minimum capital.
“Just like the Central Bank has done for the banking sector, I think that our regulator also intimated some time back that it was going to raise the minimum capital. The last time the CEOs in the insurance industry met with the commissioner, he did say that they are still thinking about the modalities and if you listened to the presentation of the supervisor from the regulator, he also mentioned that they would have to increase the minimum capital. However, for this to be done smoothly, we, as leaders of insurance companies, will also need to know exactly when it will happen so that we can strategize and plan accordingly,” he said.
Mr. Aklasi disclosed that it was imperative for the industry to carry out such symposiums in order for stakeholders to critically assess the current and future status of the industry to enhance their image, as well as continue to be relevant to the economic development of Ghana.
Seth Eshun, Head of Supervision at the National Insurance Commission (NIC), who spoke from the perspective of the regulator, said about 40 percent of cars in Ghana have not been insured, with some using fake motor insurance.
He mentioned that data available to the NIC indicates that there is an alarming gap between the number of cars that have been registered by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) and the number of cars that have been insured by insurance companies in Ghana.
However, Mr. Eshun mentioned that NIC is working together with the DVLA to ensure that cars are properly insured before they are registered by the DVLA.
Currently, there are 28 non -life insurance companies, 24 life insurance companies, 81 broking insurance companies and three re-insurance companies registered under the NIC with no strict limitation as to which company can join the sector.