Ho, Oct 9, GNA - Mr Richard Yao Fenuku-Doamekpor, a Senior Manager o= f the State Insurance Company, has said the capacity of insurance firms in Ghana was being underutilized for national development. He said the active involvement of insurance companies in the Nationa= l Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and national pensions planning, for exampl= e, could give those schemes major boosts.

Mr Fenuku-Doamekpor was speaking at lectures to mark Insurance Awareness Month in the Volta Region in Ho attended by insurers, workers, students and business people among others.

He said the country was underutilizing the potential of its insuranc= e sector in harnessing funds for investment. Mr Fenuku-Doamekpor, a Chartered Insurer and President of the Ghana Insurers Association, (GIA) said low knowledge about insurance reflected in few students taking to the profession. The GIA which hosted the ceremony, under the theme "Insurance-An Industry of Opportunity for National Development" is the umbrella association of all 35 insurance companies and two reinsurance companies i= n Ghana. Mr Confidence Kpetey, Regional Manager of Ghana Life, said only thre= e percent of Ghanaians had subscribed to life insurance policies, when it w= as the surest way of securing one's future.

Mr Richard Otto, Volta Regional Manager the Quality Insurance Compan= y, said delay in processing claims under the vehicle insurance was to avoid fraudulent claims.

Col Cyril Necku (Rtd), the Deputy Volta Regional Minister, called fo= r clearer and simpler insurance language, better handling of claims and enhancing call-centre operations.

Col Necku's said often some claims paid to policy holders fell far short of their expectations citing his own experience when his car got bu= rnt six months after has had taken a comprehensive policy on it. Insurance executives explained that policy holders were expected to raise their premiums based on the prevailing value of the property and ot= her policies in order to attract commensurate benefits.

Mr Christian Dordor, a Lecturer in Business Finance at the Ho Polytechnic in his contribution said life policy claims paid to life poli= cy holders ought not to be lower than Treasury Bill rates if they were to attract people to subscribe to those policies. Mr Rockson Dogbega, Managing Director of Berock Ventures, urged insurance companies to adopt social responsibility policies that would br= ing them closer to the people.

He suggested that insurance firms adopt more creative marketing strategies including flyers to sell their products. Mr Dogbega expressed concern about agents of some insurance firms knowing very little about the policies they sold. He urged the firms to liaise with the Police to speed up motor insurance claims.

Mr Dogbega also suggested that insurance firms educated their client= s on the impact of inflationary trends on polices they bought.