Telecoms market leader, MTN Ghana has added a life insurance scheme dubbed ‘mi life’ to the products on its Mobile Money platform. The scheme is in collaboration with MicroEnsure as the policy and claims administrator, and Golden Life Assurance Company Limited as local insurer in Ghana, and it is only for MTN Mobile Money customers. Commercial Senior Manager for MTN Mobile Money, Eli Hini told Adom News Mobile Money customers can purchase the insurance policy at a premium rate of between GHC1 to GHC5 a month either from a mobile money agent or directly through their mobile wallet. He said “GHC1 monthly premium provides a cover of GHC500, GHC2 provides GHC750 cover, GHC3 provides GHC1,000 cover, GHC4 for GHC1,500 cover and GHC5 provides GHC2,000 cover for the buyer and his or her next of kin.” Mr. Hini said immediately one makes the first payment, he or she qualifies to make a claim, adding however that one should have paid one year’s premium to qualify for a full claim. “What this means is that in the event you make a claim six months from the time you paid your first premium, we will only deduct the outstanding premium for the remaining six months off the claim amount and pay the balance into your mobile money wallet,” he said. He however pointed out that the MTN Mobile Money platform is only a channel for collecting premiums and paying claim, saying that MicroEnsure processes the claims, whiles Golden Life Assurance pays the claims. “We have limited it to Mobile Money customers because the underwriters and the insurers prefer a bank deduction to a personal payment by subscribers who are not on Mobile Money,” he said. Mr. Hini said the scheme has been piloted in Ghana for almost a month now but would be fully launched in the country later this year. He said at the MTN Group level, Hollard Insurance and MFS Africa are the administrators and insurers respectively, adding that MicroEnsure represent Hollard in Ghana. Mr. Hini said the new insurance scheme comes to add to the other Mobile Money services such as money transfer, bills payment, payment for goods and services and airtime top-up. Tigo Ghana also launched an insurance scheme recently, which is completely different from this one by MTN. Tigo’s scheme does not involve any premium contributions from customers, but rather purely on the basis of normal credit consumption, and unlike MTN’s where there is a third party policy administrator and insurer, Tigo administers and pays claims by themselves. Story by Samuel Nii Narku Dowuona/Adom News/Ghana