The year 2006 saw the State Insurance Company (SIC) posting the most successful results in the history of the company.

The SIC reported profit after tax of the ¢41.064 billion, representing a 33.68 percent increase over the 2005 figure of ¢30.718 billion.

This was announced by the Chairman of the SIC Board, Professor I.M. Ofori, at the company's 2006 Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Accra last Wednesday.

He also proposed, on behalf of the board, a dividend payment of ¢15 bil¬lion to the sole shareholder of the SIC, the Government of Ghana.

Professor Ofori said the impressive results were based on increased premium generation in both general and life businesses.

Gross premium from SIC life business, he announced, reached ¢142.363 billion in 2006, from the 2005 figure of ¢82.04 billion, an increase of 73.52 percent.

On the general business front, gross premium in 2006 reached ¢445.8119 billion, an increase of 22.51 percent over the 2005 gross premium.

Professor Ofori acknowledged the support received from his fellow directors and congratulated the management and staff of the company for implementing policies which continued to contribute to its growth.

In his report to the AGM, the Managing Director of SIC, Mr Peter Osei Duah, stated that between 40 and 60 percent of SIC shares were expected to be listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) latest August 2007.

"We are poised to realise SIC's true potential as an internationally acclaimed financial service institution," Mr Osei Duah announced.

SIC initiatives in 2006, he reported, included the launch of SIC Financial Services Limited to provide financial services other than insurance.

Insurance products introduced in 2006, Mr Peter Osei Duah stated, included a travel insurance policy for travellers going outside Ghana, which caters for their medical and other expenses incurred outside the country.

Corporate social responsibility activities undertaken by SIC in 2006 included donations of substantial sums of money to the Ghana National Trust Fund, the Ghana Heart Foundation, the Road Safety Campaign and selected children's charities.

Source: Daily Graphic