Industry experts have affirmed that local insurance firms possess the expertise and frameworks to manage Ghana’s marine cargo insurance needs.

The Ghana Chamber of Shipping (GCS) and insurance specialists said enforcement of the Insurance Act, 2021 (Act 1061), was backed by a technically sound and resilient local industry.

The assurance was given at a stakeholder engagement organised by the Chamber in Accra.

Larry Jiagge, a Chartered Insurer and lawyer, said marine insurance was governed by universal principles which Ghanaian insurers had mastered over the years.

“The topmost concern about capacity and experience should not be an issue for anybody because marine insurance is universal in nature. We all use the same rules, known as the Institute Cargo Clauses,” he said.

Jiagge said the Ghanaian market had provided marine cover for decades and noted that training for local practitioners was aligned with international standards applied in major maritime jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom.

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He said this ensured that Ghanaian importers received comparable professional protection locally.

Dr Emmanuel Kofi Mbiah, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Shipping and a Maritime Law Consultant, said local expertise offered advantages in claims processing.

He said foreign insurance arrangements often left importers frustrated during cargo damage disputes, whereas local insurers provided accessibility and prompt response.

“When your goods arrive and they are damaged, and you have an insurance locally, you can contact your insurance company to make good the loss right here,” he said.

Dr Mbiah said the local industry operated within a structured system of co-insurance and reinsurance.

He said under the Insurance Act, local companies could pool their capacity or access the international reinsurance market to underwrite large shipments.

“Whenever insurance companies here do co-insurance, they come together to take a risk. If the risk is beyond what their capacity can bear, they reinsure with others on the wider market,” he said.


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