SIC Insurance PLC revealed that although insurance companies charge a premium to cover vehicles for legitimate liability, the increase in road deaths is placing a huge financial burden on insurance companies.
The increase in road accidents was not only a health challenge, but had a significant economic cost for the insurance industry, as insurers were paying huge sums of money in claims resulting from these accidents and the overall impact on families, “life cannot be compensated”.
Ms. Cynthia Kwarteng Tufuor, SIC Area Manager, said this during the Ghana News Agency Dialogue to discuss the impact of road accidents on the insurance sector.
The latest national road safety statistics indicate that between January and May this year, the country experienced 6,472 road accidents resulting in 6,620 injuries and 1,140 deaths.
On the categories of vehicles concerned, the data shows that 4,873 passenger cars representing 44.88%; 3,669 commercial vehicles, i.e. 33.79%; and 2,316 motorcycles, or 21.33%, were involved in road accidents.
National Road Safety data also identified Greater Accra with 2,735, Ashanti with 1,496 and the East with 709 as the top three regions with the highest number of road accidents between January and May this year. .
Ms Tufuor said the increase in road accidents is placing a huge burden on insurance companies, which are paying out huge compensation to victims or their dependents.
Ms Tufuor, who is also responsible for monitoring parts of the Volta and eastern regions, said improved road safety was beneficial to the public and the insurance industry.
She said insurance coverage ensured that the health and property costs of road accident victims were protected, adding that reducing the number or severity of accidents was generally beneficial to all while reducing the volume of claims and compensation paid by insurance companies.
She said SIC Insurance PLC was taking a leadership role in reducing the cause of road safety.
Miss Cynthia Twumasi, Deputy Area Manager, SIC Insurance PLC, denied the idea that some insurance companies were unfairly scamming their customers, saying most of these issues were based on a misunderstanding of the type of insurance cover provided .
She said it was important that potential customers clearly understood the terms and conditions of the insurance cover they purchased so that they were compensated appropriately based on the cover.
She said SIC Insurance PLC paid its claims on time, explaining that insurance companies were regulated by the National Insurance Commission, which oversees, regulates and controls insurance business in the country.
She therefore advised people whose legitimate claims have been rejected by an insurance company to seek appropriate redress through the Commission.
Regarding the need for insurance companies to join the GNA-Tema road safety campaign, Ms. Twumasi explained that while it may seem that the incentives for insurers to prevent road accidents come mainly from their responsibility to pay road accident claims, the company benefits were greater as many lives would be saved.
Source: GNA