Hollard CEO expresses worry about uninsured government properties

Patience Akyianu, Group Chief Executive of Hollard Ghana, has stated that successive governments’ lack of enthusiasm towards insuring government properties should be a concern for all Ghanaians.

The CEO warned that the government’s uninterested approach has put many lives in jeopardy and that if nothing is done, the situation will worsen.

Mrs. Akyianu mentioned that appeals to governments to protect third parties to get public assets insured have been unproductive for several years.

According to estimates, the insurance sector might earn billions of cedis if government assets are insured, a step that is projected to considerably increase the sector’s coverage.

Mrs. Patience Akyianu stated that, not only is the situation’s falling penetration rate concerning, but also that the countless innocent third parties are being taken for granted.

“You go into a government building, for instance, which is not insured and something happens to you and because of that you cannot claim, should you not be worried?

“It is not a matter for the industry, it is a matter for Ghanaians to be concerned about and for me, I think the conversations are in the right direction; so, we all do the right thing.

“In the case of a disaster, this situation puts inhabitants and those who conduct business in such buildings in danger” she said.

All commercial building owners are required to insure their property under the National Insurance Act, Act 742 of 2006, as well as the new Act 2021, Act 1061.

Personal Assets

Hollard Insurance’s General Manager of Operations, Alexander Osei-Mensah, urged residents to insure their personal possessions in their residences.

Even though tenants do not own the properties, they own the assets in them, according to Alexander Osei-Mensah, it is advisable to insure them.

People should not intentionally expose themselves to unforeseeable risks, according to the General Manager. He feels that having property insurance allows you to live peacefully without worrying about unforeseen events.

Mr. Osei-Mensah further debunked myths about insurance bureaucracies, explaining how straightforward the plan is and encouraged people to sign up for insurance packages.

“So, all the policies, whether it is designed to cover the building as a structure or the content for renters, are designed in such a way that it covers any anticipated risk.

“The only one that probably you don’t pay for are the obvious ones. Like; setting fire into the property or being reckless that you damage your own stuff; otherwise, almost every foreseeable risk including malicious damage. Maybe people are doing their ‘tsooboi’ somewhere, they pass by your house, they scratch or they decide to smash your windows. Theft is covered. Everything is covered”

He intimated that those in the country who insure their buildings as well as their contents are better off than people who live abroad.

“Thankfully for Ghana, we don’t have what elsewhere they may call fundamental risk. In some countries, you wouldn’t get flood cover. The UK is an example. If you go to a country like Japan, you don’t get cover for earthquakes.”