Kumasi, March 3, GNA - The State Insurance Company (SIC) has instituted a one billion cedis personal accident policy covering a 10-year period for the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.

The policy has an annual value of 100 million cedis. Mr Ebenezer Allotey, Managing Director of the SIC, announced this when members of the Board of Directors and management of the SIC, paid a courtesy call on the Asantehene at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi on Friday.

In addition, the SIC has also worked out a package to give 30 per cent discount to the Asantehene and Manhyia Palace in respect of any business they would transact with the company.

This aside, the Managing Director disclosed that the SIC is also to commit 25 million cedis into the Asanteman Educational Fund established at the initiative of the Asantehene to accelerate the development of quality education.

The amount to be contributed into the fund would be paid over a five-year period with five million cedis being lodged into the fund annually. Mr Larry Adjetey, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the SIC, explained that the gesture was in appreciation of the good links that exist between the Asantehene and the SIC.

He said the decision to institute the personal accident policy cover for the Asantehene and the discount offer is in acknowledgement of the volume of business the Otumfuo and Manhyia conduct with the SIC.

Mr Adjetey stated that the SIC had come up with a personalised service policy to provide personal services to their "Valued Clients" and added that the Asantehene and Manhyia are among their valued clients and would continue to benefit under it.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu commended the SIC for its concern for the development of Manhyia and Asanteman but called on them to mount educational programmes to create the needed awareness among Ghanaians about the importance of insurance to enable the majority of them to patronise it.

The Asantehene said he regretted that due to lack of adequate knowledge about the worth of insurance policies, only a few people currently patronise it while the majority of the people, who equally need the services of insurance companies are yet to be reached.

The SIC later presented a cheque for five million cedis to the Asantehene as its first instalment of the 25 million cedis towards the Otumfuo Educational Fund.