The Commissioner of Insurance, Justice Ofori, has tasked insurance companies to strategise and position themselves to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework to build a resilient industry.
He said AfCFTA was the biggest trade agreement in the world and the insurance industry would have a huge role to play to ensure its success and reap the benefits accordingly.
He was speaking at Ghana Reinsurance (Ghana Re)’s 12th Cedants awards held on Friday under the theme “the African Continental Free Trade Area: the Agreement and its impact on the Insurance Industry.”
“The AfCFTA has come at the right time as it supports regional production and reduces overreliance on external partners,” he stated.
The effective implementation of the agreement he said, was critical and would require the services of the insurance sector to succeed.
“Let us come together to position the industry to take advantage of what the free movements of goods and services would offer so we can benefit and grow our industry,” he stated.
The movement of goods and services into the country and living in the country he said, would require some form of insurance and regulators must explore and discuss measures to take advantage of the situation.
“Let us continue to dialogue and strategise on how to take advantage of AfCFTA to build a stronger industry for the next generation,” he said.
Managing Director at Ghana Re, Mr George Y. Mensah added that, AfCFTA was expected to create the world’s second-largest trade agreement in history following that of the World Trade Organisation.
“More trade in goods will mean greater need for insurance services and a high demand for trade facilitation services and insurance companies must analyse critically to be able to reap the benefits of the largest trade area,” he said.
“Notable is the development of relevant insurance products that can mitigate the political and economic risks as well as serve as a major key to giving African businesses the confidence to take advantage of the numerous opportunities under AfCFTA,” he stressed.
In order to reap the benefits of AfCFTA by the insurance industry he said, efforts must be made to acquire requisite knowledge to venture into new markets.
“Research and development is, therefore, a key area the industry needs to start investing in if we are to benefit from the creation of the trade area,” he stated.
He also urged regional insurance bodies and regulators to facilitate the development of the insurance market in member countries, while encouraging exchange of businesses, personnel and information among member companies.
He said Ghana Re would continue to explore opportunities available under AfCFTA and provide partners with the requisite technical and financial support to meet the expectations of clients while helping build a resilient insurance industry.
He expressed appreciation to clients for their contributions to the growth of Ghana Re and congratulated the winners of the night for their outstanding performances.
The ultimate award in the night, Cedant of the Year (General Business) went to SIC Insurance while there were other awards including Broker of the Year (KEK Insurance) and Life Business (Ghana Union Life Insurance).
Special awards went to Saham Life, Metropolitan Life, Vanguard Life, First Insurance, Allianz Insurance, Enterprise Insurance, Donewell Insurance and Loyalty Insurance.
BY MICHAEL D.ABAYATEYE
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