Shaibu Ali, the President of the Insurance Brokers Association (IBAG) of Ghana has advised the populace to engage the services of qualified insurance brokers for the best terms and conditions in the insurance market.

He said well-trained insurance brokers had the competency to assist prospective clients in selecting the right insurance companies based on the culture, philosophy, and risk appetite of the companies.

“The good thing about the above services is that they are entirely free and do not incur any cost to the client.

“What insurance brokers, therefore, bring to their clients is peace of mind to enable clients focus on their core vocations,” he said at the launch of the 2023 Insurance Brokers Awareness Month, which was organised under the theme, “Insurance Broker: Your Gateway to the Market”.

The awareness campaign is aimed at highlighting the relevance of brokers in the insurance sector and the immense benefit of insurance through the services of brokers.

This is to be done through radio and television engagements, educational activities, social media campaigns and press soirees, among others.

Mr Ali observed that insurance brokering was unfamiliar to the average Ghanaian due to the low level of insurance penetration in the country.

“This year we are placing emphasis on educating the public about claims administration. We aim to enlighten consumers on the process of making claims, the necessary documentation, procedures and the ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ of the claims’ procedure,” he said.

Michael Andoh, Acting Commissioner of the National Insurance Commission (NIC) commended IBAG for the initiative.

He said education in the sector was the greatest tool to empower and protect consumers adding that, “a well-educated consumer must have a good understanding of the types and purposes of the various products and service as well as market players and their roles in the market”.

He urged the Association to pay more attention to the latest digital trends in the sector and invest accordingly or collaborate with tech firms to adopt technologies that would go a long way to increase insurance penetration in the country.

IBAG registered in 1988 as the Ghana Insurance Brokers Association (GIBA) is an association of licensed insurance brokers operating in Ghana with currently 96 member firms of insurance brokers, Reinsurance Brokers and Loss Adjusters.

The Association has a seven-member council and a secretariat headed by the Chief Executive Officer.