Life insurance company, First Insurance has presented a cheque for ¢204,000 to a claimant who is said to be critically ill.

The amount constitutes 40% of the sum assured of ¢500,000 signed onto by the claimant under First Insurance Company’s “Term Life” plan.

The balance of the amount that is left will be paid in the unfortunate event that the claimant passes on.

The company, by the presentation, underscored the relevance of claims payment to improving the general perception about insurance in the country.

Speaking to Joy Business, Chief Executive of First Insurance, Jack Muzunze said his outfit seeks to contribute to efforts to restore the credibility of the industry towards paying claims as evidenced by the announcement.

"We want to clear the public perception that Life Insurance companies don't pay claims because these are highly-regulated entities by the National Insurance Commission that ensures that all valid claims are paid by all insurance companies after all relevant documents have been received," he added.

He said many people had erroneous perceptions that insurance companies did not pay their claims or they delayed in settling claims.

But according to Mr. Muzunze, the industry has come far with strict regulatory measures which deterred insurance companies from not honouring genuine claims.

"I think obviously, some people have had bad claims experiences when it comes to life insurance companies but the bottom line is that insurance companies are governed by the NIC who regulates us so all claims that come through to insurance companies that are valid have to be paid otherwise our regulator can repudiate our license if we don't do that."

Other benefits

In the event that a policyholder does not make any claim in 5 years, he or she benefits 15 percent of the total premiums paid under the Term Life plan. In addition to that, at the age of 65 to 75, the policyholder does not pay any premiums at all. Moreso, at the age of 75, the policyholder is entitled to all of his or her total premiums paid so far for no claims made on the policy.

Education

Meanwhile, the First Insurance CEO has attributed the poor patronage of life insurance policies in the country to what he describes as lack of education.

He observed  that the current penetration rate hovering around 1% to GDP remains a challenge in the industry.

He has therefore urged other insurance companies to take advantage of every platform they get to educate the general public on the importance of insurance.

For his part, Chief Claims Officer at First Insurance Company Ltd., Fiifi Smith said the company pays substantial amounts as claims to be able to afford policyholders the best of health care service and befitting burials in the unlikely event of an accident or incident.

"We believe that if this money is given to them, they will be able to go anywhere in the world to have the best treatment for the policyholder and to ensure that the policyholder doesn't die before we pay out the claim," he said.

Legal representative of the claimant who wants to remain unanimous commended First Insurance Company and urged the general public to patronise insurance as confidence in the industry had significantly improved.

" I entreat all Ghanaians that really the life insurance business is something we should look at to build our families and especially take up policies with life insurance," he said.