The Minister for Finance, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, has urged insurance companies in West Africa to embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a tool to enhance the appeal and efficiency of insurance services.
Representing the minister at the opening ceremony of the West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) Education Conference in Accra, Sampson Akligoh, Director of the Financial Sector Division at the Ministry of Finance, underscored the need for regulatory frameworks to keep pace with technological advancements, particularly AI, which is rapidly transforming the insurance landscape.
“We must prioritize stronger regulations that meet international standards and are adequately robust to address the challenges within the sector,” Akligoh stated, emphasizing that regulatory improvements are critical to the sector’s growth.
Akligoh also highlighted the significant role of insurance in reducing risks for lenders by offering financial protection against bad debts. However, he noted that many insurance companies overlook the credit market, which is crucial to their operations, and called for greater focus on this area to enhance insurance’s contribution to local and national economies in the years ahead.
Michael Kofi Andoh, Acting Commissioner of Insurance, announced ongoing efforts to create a new framework for measuring insurance penetration in Ghana to accurately reflect the sector’s reach. He explained that the commission is collecting data from health and pension schemes to integrate with existing life and non-life insurance coverage.
“We aim to consolidate data from health and pension sectors to calculate a more comprehensive penetration rate. By the end of 2024, we expect to have an accurate understanding of the true insurance penetration level,” Andoh stated.
Andoh also drew attention to climate change as a critical issue affecting the insurance industry’s operations and sustainability across the region. He called for a united response from WAICA members to address the challenges posed by climate change.
The WAICA Education Conference, which brought together stakeholders from Ghana, Nigeria, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, centered on the theme: “Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Insurance in the Sub-Region.” It emphasized the importance of leveraging AI to expand insurance coverage and deepen penetration across the West African sub-region.
Source: TheDotNews