Business News of Friday, 30 November 2018

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

Exceptional customer service imperative in insurance sector - Achampong-Kyei

Kwame Acheampong-Kyei Kwame Acheampong-Kyei

GLICO Healthcare, one of Ghana's leading private health insurance provider and founded by Mr Kwame Achampong Kyei, has pledged continued support to the healthcare system in Ghana as it celebrates its customer service month in November. 

The company has anchored itself in the health insurance sector by providing affordable health insurance packages to the average Ghanaian and by delighting its base with innovative customer service initiatives over the years.

In an interview with the Executive Chairman of the GLICO Group, Mr. Kwame Acheampong-Kyei, he re-iterated a long-standing vision of making healthcare insurance accessible to every household. “When I founded GLICO some decades back I envisioned a future where the average Ghanaian had insurance cover that cushioned them for the many shocks of life. In the more recent period, healthcare issues have assumed new importance and this compelled the GLICO Group to enter the healthcare insurance market,” he added.

As Executive Chairman of the GLICO Group, Mr Achampong-Kyei has embraced and supported the adoption of technology for insurance sales and as a means to ensure the satisfaction of existing customers of GLICO Healthcare.

Mr Acheampong-Kyei’s optimism about the health insurance sector and the direction taken by GLICO Healthcare is shared by the Scheme Manager of GLICO Healthcare, Harriet Tenge. During preliminary events to celebrate Customer Service Month, Mrs Tenge indicated that, “… in 2018 GLICO Healthcare has updated and relaunched a mobile app that provides information and resources to both prospective and existing clients and that acts as major customer service channel for the company now. In this year as well, we have also increased our social media engagement with customers and our social media platforms have become strong interfacing channels with clients who are active online.” According to her, other initiatives such as being featured on the Star Phone mobile application is one of the ways in which the company is using technology to bring efficiency to its customer service.

In a market that currently has as many as thirteen licensed operators, good customer service and innovative product development is what assures a competitive edge. According to Mrs Tenge, GLICO Healthcare has been as equally strong on developing appealing value propositions that meet the needs of various buyer segments within the market.

According to her, “…our customers have benefited immensely from our portfolio of healthcare insurance services over the years. GLICO Healthcare has provided comprehensive medical services as well as supplemental health insurances, amongst other innovative propositions, to address the limitations of the National Health Insurance Scheme.”
The Group Head of Corporate Affairs and Marketing, Nana Efua Rockson, is convinced that GLICO Healthcare will continue on a strong growth trajectory because of its unique mix of product and service offerings. “The next step for us in terms of strategy is to cascade our customer service focus and intiatives to our partners across channels and to make sure the customer is delighted at every touchpoint of interaction,” she adds.
GLICO Healthcare was the first health maintenance organisation to be established in Ghana after the enactment of the National Health Insurance Act 2003 (Act 650) and for more than a decade, has offered Ghanaians affordable and quality healthcare. Currently, GLICO Healthcare operates five healthcare insurance schemes: GLICO Healthplan, Gemini Top-up scheme and GLICO Tourist Health Plan. The rest are GLICO Students Health Insurance and Sunkwa Health Insurance Plan.

To reach a majority of the public, GLICO Healthcare has collaborated with the Ghana Health Service for the use of Government Hospitals, Polyclinics, Mission Hospitals as well as Health centers nationwide. The company is among a few that offers coverage for treatment at herbal clinics and that also customizes packages on request to many reputable institutions in Ghana including non-governmental organizations as well as international and government agencies.
In 2017, GLICO Healthcare partnered with Vodafone Ghana in 2017 to provide clients with free medical consultation and advice. The objective was to make healthcare advice and consultation efficient and accessible. The call centre operates daily between 4pm and 10pm and has served over four-hundred thousand (400,000) Ghanaians since its inception.
To culminate years of excellence, GLICO Healthcare was ranked number sixteen (16) by the GIPC Ghana Club 100 Ranking Table for 2016 and a leader in the healthcare insurance category for that year.