Mrs Thelma Cynthia Odonkor, Managing Director (MD) of Adamas Life Assurance Company Limited, says life assurance policies are necessary for all adults as they serve as a financial security guarantee in times of crisis.

She stressed that life assurance policies could become the financial backbone and provide opportunities to families as they emerge from troubles and difficult financial crisis.

Mrs Odonkor said this in an interview with Ghana News Agency, during a week’s training programme for Adamas Life’s Assurance Sales Executives in Accra.

The training seeks to equip the Adamas Life Assurance Sales Executives with modern salesmanship techniques, business communication, customer service, hunting for client, maintaining integrity and adhering to industrial rules and regulations.

The Adamas Life Managing Director described the June 3 twin-disaster as unfortunate and traumatic but noted that the impact on families who lost their members could have been ameliorated “if any of the victims had a life assurance policy”.

“A life assurance policy will reduce the impact of losing a family member and breadwinner as the policy would have cushioned the financial impact on the family and protect the educational welfare of children of the victims of the disaster,” she said.

She said Adamas Life Assurance is coming up with the Adamas School Plan which would ensure that all parents and guardians secure the future of their wards with an insurance policy.

Mrs Odonkor said Ghanaians are reluctant to partake in assurance policies because they have little or no knowledge about it, adding that “Adamas Life Assurance has, therefore, instituted a stakeholder’s forum to educate the public on the need to take a life insurance policy”.

Speaking on Quality Customer Service, Mr Francis Ameyibor, General Coordinator, Communication for Development and Advocacy Consult, said quality customer service is critical for winning new customers and retaining existing ones.

“Not only are insurance companies failing to provide adequate overall customer satisfaction, many sales executives and brokers are having trouble meeting the needs of specific constituents.

"Insurance companies need to devise new marketing and communication strategies to meet the growing and changing needs of its customers,” Mr Ameyibor said.

He noted that the slow growth in the industry is mainly attributed to the lack of and the low level of insurance education among stakeholders.

He said many insurance companies have adopted organic cross-selling and up-selling to increase sales but "there is an urgent need for the adoption of modern communication mediums including social media applications to meet the needs of customers".

He said opportunities abound for sales executives and brokers to broaden their offerings through the formation of stronger network to create economies of scale and enter new markets.

Mr Ameyibor also identified lack of customer interaction as one of the many factors that limit selling opportunities in the insurance industry and called on Adamas Life Assurance to create the enabling environment for customer feedback.