Weeklong insurance awareness campaign kick-starts today

A weeklong sensitization campaign that seeks to further increase the understanding of the general public of insurance and insurance policies to lay the foundation for building a trusting relationship between insurance providers and the public has started in earnest.

Organised by the Insurance Association of The Gambia (IAG), as part of its information, education and clarification programme, the Insurance Awareness Week (IAW), which started today Monday, is an inspirational industry campaign which unites those who share an interest in elevating public awareness about the progress and benefits of The Gambia insurance industry.

The theme of this year’s edition, which is the third of its kind, is ‘Contribution of insurance stakeholders towards eradicating the poor public image of the industry’ and will run from 11 to 16 February 2013.

Like the previous editions of the campaign, this year the organizers said the campaign seeks to basically pave way for a more insurance responsive public by providing better understanding of insurance to the public thereby improving the public image of the industry hence developing public interest in insurance.

As part of the campaign, there will be a sponsored walk today starting from the International Insurance Company’s branch on Kairaba Avenue and ending at the head office of Capital Express Assurance Company located at Sankung Sillah Building along Kairaba Avenue, where statements will be delivered by various insurance technocrats.

Gambian installed as president of sub-regional Insurance Association

Mr Dawda Sarge

Mr Dawda Sarge, managing director of Prime Insurance Company Limited, has been installed as the new president of the West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) for one year (2012/2013), succeeding Mr Fatai Lawal, a Nigerian. 

Mr Sarge’s investiture was held on Tuesday during the closing dinner of the of the two-day annual general meeting and educational conference of WAICA, which brought together about 200 insurance professionals from all over West Africa, held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Kololi from 16  - 17 April 2012.

Dressed in traditional African fabric, Getzener Bazin, Mr Sarge took the prescribed oath of office pledging to discharge his duties faithful to the best of his ability and in accordance with the Constitution of WAICA and law.

Shortly after taking the oath, before the WAICA executive committee members and the general membership, as well as family members and well-wishers, Mr Sarge said: “I wish to thank my colleagues in the Gambia insurance industry especially the executive committee members of the association (Insurance Association of the Gambia) for your magnanimity and confidence which you demonstrated by nominating me into the (WAICA) executive and as the president for 2012 – 2013.”

Strategies to sanitize insurance industry discussed

delegates at the conference

Insurance professionals from across West Africa recently converged in The Gambia to discuss strategies to clean their industry of unprofessional and unethical insurance institutions and practitioners who are said to be partly responsible for the slow growth and development of the industry in the sub-region.

“Professional and Ethical Behaviour in the Insurance Industry” was the discussion topic at the annual general meeting and educational conference of the West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) hosted in The Gambia by the Insurance Association of The Gambia (IAG) from 15 to 17 April at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Senegambia.

The discussion was centred on how to root out all those people who are behaving in an unprofessional and unethical manner in the insurance industry.

Speaking on the occasion, the president of the Insurance Association of the Gambia (IAG), said the theme of the conference is indeed interesting and appropriate considering the scale and scope of professional deception and ethical misconduct in the financial system in recent times. 

Gambia Hosts AGM of sub-regional Insurance Association

The 34^th annual general meeting and educational conference of the West African Insurance Companies Association (WAICA) will be held in the Gambia from 15 to 17 April this year, William B. Coker, secretary general and chief executive officer of the sub-regional insurance association, has revealed.

The theme of the conference, to be held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Senegambia, is “Professional and Ethical Behaviour in the Insurance Industry”. 

About 200 delegates, including representatives of various insurance companies in the sub-region, insurance brokers, and reinsurance companies as well as observers from all over the world are expected to grace the annual rotating conference.

Mr Coker, CEO/Secretary General of WAICA

Sunday, 15 April, is the arrival of the delegates, who will be treated to a welcome cocktail in the evening, and the conference proper takes place on 16 and 17 April.

Mr Coker, a Gambian, says this year the conference will discuss professionalism and ethical behaviour because these issues worry not only the insurance industry but other industries as well.  

“So as far as the insurance industry is concerned, we want to see how we can root out all those people who are behaving in an unprofessional manner, in an unethical manner because those are the few people that give any industry a bad name,” Mr Coker said. “So we are here to discuss that particular aspect of our work (insurance work) and see how best we can ostracize any such person or companies that are not behaving professionally and are dragging down the profession.”

Insurers showcase indispensable role of insurance in economic development

 The Insurance Association of The Gambia (IAG) have recently dedicated a whole week, 19 – 25^th February, to increase the general public’s understanding of insurance and insurance policies so as to showcase the crucial and potential roles that the industry plays economic development.

A series of activities were held as part of the Insurance Awareness Week geared towards drawing the public’s attention to the noble profession of insurance in order to contribute in providing better understanding of basic insurance and to develop public interest on insurance so as to pave way for a more insurance responsive public.

This is among the many steps that the IAG have taken towards erasing the poor public image that the Gambia insurance industry has been suffering from over the years despite the critical roles that it plays in economic development. 

IAG takes insurance awareness campaign to the grassroots

The Insurance Association of the Gambia, in furtherance of its campaign which seeks to increase awareness and enhance the public image of the insurance industry, on Friday June 24^th, organized a lecture for the National Students Insurance Club (NaSIC).

Held at St. Augustine’s Senior Secondary School in Banjul, the lecture was organized to introduce insurance to the students, the basic principles of insurance, the concepts of insurance and why the need for insurance. 

NaSIC was established in 2009 by a group of students from St. Augustine’s and St. Joseph’s Senior Secondary Schools and it was officially launched by the IAG in April this year.  The club was formed to inculcate into students, the positive role that insurance plays in the development of a country, as well as to encourage students to take up insurance as a career.

Henry Jawo, secretary general of the IAG, said:  “We need to educate them (the students) about what insurance is all about.  The lecture is beginning of a series of programme that we will embarking upon with NaSIC and other insurance clubs, and we hope with the intervention of West Africa Insurance Institute (WAII), as they are one in charge of training, we will be able to get the students series of lectures so that they understand and appreciate insurance.

Mr Jawo

“The idea is to make the students to know insurance so that when they finish school they will appreciate the values of insurance and some of them can take up a career in insurance, and those who will be engage somewhere else outside the insurance industry will already be knowledgeable and conscious of the importance of insurance and they will always be willing to insure whatever property they might have.”

Insurance is a defensive measure used against future conditional losses to hedge the possible risks of the future. It is a legal contract that protects a person from contingent risk of losses through financial means and provides a means for individuals and societies to handle some of the risks faced in daily life. 

Winston Kuti-George, medical and travel manager, Great Alliance Insurance Company, in his presentation, told the students that insurance involves two parties; ‘the insurer’ and ‘the insured’.  The ‘insurer’ is the insurance company and the ‘insured’ is the policyholder.  “The policyholder pays a prescribed amount to the insurer called premium, the insurer in turn agrees to bear the financial loss and expenses of the policyholder,” Mr Kuti-George said.

He explained that the Gambia insurance industry as at 2010 consist of 11 registered insurance companies out of which ten are engaged in only non-life insurance business and one doing wholly life. “Usually policies under non-life are short term or one year indemnity contracts,” he said, adding “Funds or premiums are normally invested in short term, not more than one year, investment ventures like treasury bills.”

He explained that insurance like banking, promotes savings to individuals, it promotes investment because insurance companies can easily invest in agriculture, commerce, etc. And it also protects a person against the dangers of life and property.

National Students Insurance Club launched

The Insurance Association of The Gambia on Tuesday officially inaugurated the National Students Insurance Club (NaSIC) at a ‘historic’ ceremony held at St. Joseph’s Senior Secondary School in Banjul. Established in January 2009 by a group of students from St. Augustine’s and St. Joseph’s Senior Secondary Schools, NaSIC was formed to inculcate into students, the positive role that insurance plays in the development of a country, as well as to encourage students to take up insurance as a career. Marie Dalliah, Lady Councilor of Banjul, while officially launching NaSIC on behalf of Mayor Samba Faal Lord, commended the students for coming up with such “a brilliant initiative” of forming a national students club. She said:  “It is brilliant in a sense that it will enhance and enable students to make a career at a very tender age.  This is a step in the right direction and at the right time and it comes at a time when his Excellency, President Jammeh, is doing everything to make sure that you students become responsible citizens and active leaders of tomorrow.” The secretary general of IAG, Henry Jawo noted that the idea of having insurance club at the schools will go a long way in making people appreciate the services of insurance “because in many areas when you talk about insurance what comes to the minds of many people is motor insurance. Insurance is wider than that.” Insurance is a defensive measure used against future conditional losses to hedge the possible risks of the future. It is a legal contract that protects a person from contingent risk of losses through financial means and provides a means for individuals and societies to handle some of the risks faced in daily life. Insurance plays an important role in sharing the risks of people in an affordable form. It helps the people to quickly recover from damages and losses. Mr Jawo said:  “We do hope that by the launching of this club we will one day witness a day where all the schools in the country would have insurance club in the curriculum in order to encourage students to appreciate the services of insurance and even to take it up as a profession. Dawda Sarge, President of the IAG, explained that the IAG has been embarking on a series of programme for the last five years to map out certain strategy that will enhance the image of the industry. “We are not only stopping at that, but also try to lay a solid foundation for the future because we are cognizant of the fact that you can only leave a legacy when there is a successor and there is no other way to do that than to go back to the roots. That is to go to the schools to sensitize students about the important of insurance in an economy.” Speaking earlier, President of National Students Insurance Club, Rosaline Mendy said the formation of National Students Insurance Club demonstrates their commitment and understanding to the positive role insurance plays in an economy. She noted that insurance is one of the economic ventures that play a vital role in the economy of a country. Joseph Gomez, vice principal of St Joseph secondary said the launching of insurance club is a remarkable event where young people are going to be introduce to the motives and ideas of insurance. Sukai Bahoum, a student of St. Joseph and executive member of NaSIC delivered the vote of thanks.  She thanked the IAG for financing the launching programme.

IAG takes medical insurance a notch higher

The Insurance Association of The Gambia (IAG) on Wednesday organized a forum that provided the stakeholders involved in medical insurance to discuss, in a forthright and very professional manner, some of the challenges inhibiting the successful operation of Private Medical Insurance (PMI) schemes in The Gambia. Held at Laico Atlantic Hotel, the forum, on the theme; ‘The evolution of medical insurance in The Gambia: Prospects and Constraints’,  brought together all the three major stakeholders of medical insurance scheme, which is the insurance companies, the medical practitioners, and the insured, also known as the sponsoring institutions. The forum was geared towards building a solid foundation for meaningful partnerships and cooperation of both parties involve in the scheme.  The stakeholders discussed issues of mutual concern for better management of medical insurance scheme, which is one of the two most popular insurance policies in The Gambia. Dawda Sarge, president of IAG and the managing director of Prime Insurance Company explained that forum provides a common platform for insurance operators and other stakeholders to discuss issues of common concern and to generate excellent ideas for the socio-economic advancement of the  people in general and the development of the Gambian economy in particular. He said:  “This year’s theme: “The evolution of medical insurance in The Gambia: prospects and constraints” is yet another demonstration by the IAG to create an environment for fruitful dialogue among all stakeholders in the various Private Medical Insurance (PMIs) schemes within the insurance industry.” The IAG president noted that the cardinal objective of all PMIs in The Gambia is to support national health development objectives through the use of best and useful practices that maximizes the efficient and effective use of inter-dependence hence the need for all PMI stakeholders to complement one another rather than compete; deliver services as expected rather than duplicate them; and finally show more equity, transparency and accountability in their transactions with one another. He said:  “All development oriented partnerships should (and I dare say) must operate on the premise and principle of shared responsibility.  We cannot have successful PMI schemes when insurers fail to provide good value medical expenses insurance covers (by making the necessary reimbursements to the doctors or sponsoring organization on time); or doctors and clinics charging exorbitant medical bills or encouraging practices that are inimical to the insurance delivery process; or the sponsoring organizations abdicating their responsibilities towards the scheme.” Mr Sarge quoted the Chairman of Munich Re Management Board, Dr Nich Von Bomhard as saying: “Insurance companies should always avoid a situation where-in the insuring institution pays the loss upfront as a premium and gets the money back as a claim” I believe this statement resonates well with the PMI provider institutions. Mr. Kunle Adegboye, managing director of Capital Express Assurance (G) Limited said medical insurance throughout the world is always a controversial issue. “Of course in this part of the world it is still relatively not well understandable how the scheme is run because it is a tripartite sort of agreement.  The insurers on one side, the insured on the other side, and the medical practitioners on another side.  So it is a three legged agreement which if there is not synergy there will be a situation that it will invariably not work. And there lies the controversy, there lies the constraint.” The forum witnessed presentation of papers from both parties involved in medical insurance scheme. Both parties presented on different perspective on ‘The evolution of medical insurance in The Gambia; prospects and constraints’.  Mr Momodou Joof, managing director of Takaful Gambia Limited presented on the perspective of the insurers.  Dr Adama Sallah of Lamtoro Medical Clinic presented on the perspective of medical practitioners, and Mr Mohammed Jeng of Gambia Revenue Authority presented on the perspective of the insures.

Insurance practitioners to set-up credit union

Following popular demand from its members, the Insurance Association of The Gambia on Thursday, converged at Laico Atlantic Hotel in Banjul, as part of its Annual General Meeting, to discuss on the formation of a cooperative credit union for insurance practitioners who are members of the association. Pic: Mr. Henry Jawo, Secretary General, IAG The secretary general of the IAG, Mr Henry Jawo, said most of the members of the IAG were asking if the association could set-up a cooperative credit union.  “Since it is a demand from the membership, we thought we could spare sometime of our AGM to invite an official from the National Association of Cooperative Credit Unions of The Gambia (NACCUG), the apex body for credit unions in the country, to come and guide us; to tell us what are the requirements to start a credit union for our members.” Credit union is a financial co-operative owned and controlled by its members, for its members. Credit unions exist to serve the financial needs of their members, on a not-for-profit basis, and to retain members’ savings in their community for the benefit of all the members. In his PowerPoint presentation, Mr Hamey B. Jawara, Programme Manager of NACCUG, explained that credit union helps its members to achieve financial independence through regular savings, and fair and affordable access to loans. He said credit union membership fee varies from credit union to credit union depending on choice and affordability of its members. Advantages of being a credit union member, Mr Jawara said include members own the organization that takes care of your money, it also gives members financial security, and also fair and affordable access to loans. NACCUG programme manager said:  “Each member holds minimum of two shares in a credit union. The share value varies from credit union to credit union with a minimum value of D25.00 (twenty-five dalasis) per share. Each shareholder is eligible for a dividend at the end of the financial year from the credit union’s accumulated surplus. He told the insurance practitioners that dividends are appropriated from surplus after appropriation of all necessary reserves.  The rate of dividend can vary from credit union to credit union. Credit union operating principles are founded in the philosophy of cooperation and its central values are equality, equity and mutual self-help. Credit union members enjoy equal rights to vote (one member, one vote) and participate in decisions affecting the credit union, without regard to the amount of savings or deposits or the volume of business. Credit union is autonomous, within the framework of law and regulation, recognizing the credit union as a cooperative enterprise serving and controlled by its members. To encourage thrift through savings and thus to provide loans and other services, a fair rate of interest is paid on savings and deposits, within the capability of the credit union. After Mr Jawara’s presentation, IAG secretary general, Mr Jawo said now the IAG is going to decide at their next executive committee meeting and decision will be taken there as to whether the association should formed one or not.  “But the interest that has generated after the presentation, I believe that definitely we will be forming one in not too distant future,” Mr Jawo explained.