It seems Ghanaian importers might be breaching the law by increasingly using foreign insurers to underwrite their import goods, a trade lawyer has said. This practice may constitute an illegality under the Insurance Act, 2006 and the Ghana Shippers Council Regulations, L.I. 1347 which seems to prohibit local importers from trading on Cost, Insurance and Freight (ClF) terms. At an international trade workshop in Accra, an international trade and maritime lawyer, Stanley R.K. Ahorlu , said the Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) and Destination Inspection Companies (DIC), have turned a blind eye to this possible illegality. "Customs and DICs have done nothing to correct this practice, which goes to benefit only the foreign underwriter," said Mr. Ahorlu, of Amitlaw, an international trade and shipping law practice. One consequence of using foreign insurers to underwrite goods imported into the country is that if anything goes wrong with the transaction, the local importer cannot sue, because of the illegality of the trade terms. Additionally, the practice has starved local insurance firms of premiums that could have accrued from international trade deals. Information gathered from the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industries, (GCCI) indicate that the situation has arisen as a result of the impracticability of the provisions in the Insurance and the Shippers Council laws. The assertion was corroborated by participants at the workshop when they said the limited number of vessels in the country, lack of awareness on the law, weaker bargaining position of local importers and the unwillingness of local insurance companies to market maritime products have all contributed to the blatant use of foreign insurers in international trade deals. Information from insurance companies indicate that the maritime insurance constitutes less than 10 per cent of their premiums. Source: Business & Financial Times