NIC Charged To Go Beyond Just Recapitalizing Insurance Sector

Partner at the audit firm, KPMG, Mr. Robert Dzato, has challenged the National Insurance Commission (NIC) to go beyond just raising the minimum capital requirement for the insurance industry.

Players in the insurance industry at this year’s JoyBusiness Financial Services Forum which focused on the insurance sector concluded that in order for the sector to grow, there was the need for the regulator to do more than just increasing the minimum capital requirement.

According to Mr Dzato, in order for the insurance sector to grow, the need for the introduction of innovative products cannot be overemphasized.

“I want to state that recapitalization is not the only answer to the challenges in the sector but there is the need to also introduce product innovation, this way, I believe will go a long way to increase the sector's contributions.”

Mr Dzato spoke in his capacity as a panellist during the interactive session at the forum.

The KPMG partner has also noted some flaws in the insurance sector and has called for a gradual drift to a risk-based approach by the industry’s regulator. He explains that insurers should be made to up their capital depending on the risks they are exposed to.

Insurance education

Meanwhile, Insurance Broker, Nsia Afriyie who also represented the Ghana Insurance Brokers Association (GIBA), has admonished his colleagues to improve the low knowledge of the sector with more education.

A researcher from CUTS, who was a part of the audience, in his submission decried the overwhelming number of individuals who are against various forms of insurance schemes and advocated for more sensitization to increase insurance penetration.

On his part, former Deputy Commissioner of Insurance at the NIC, Simon Davor, welcomed the regulator’s resolve to increase the capital level but has called for collect discipline in the industry to ensure the industry achieves the desired result.

The 2019 JoyBusiness Financial Services Forum was on the theme, “Recapitalising to Grow; a panacea for expansion, penetration and big business underwriting?”

Source: JoyBusiness