Undoubtedly, insurance plays a very vital role in our societies by mitigating the effects of unfavourable events that affect us in our everyday activities. It is needed that we are abreast with the insurance activities wherever we find ourselves. Let us look at the largest insurance companies in Ghana by market share in 2021 and the services they provide.
A brief background of insurance companies in Ghana
Ghana’s insurance industry has its origins from the colonial era (Pre 1957) when insurance business was transacted through foreign trading companies who acted as agents of Insurance companies in mostly the United Kingdom and other lands. Barclays Bank was the first agent for the UK’s Royal Exchange Assurance Corporation in 1924.
After this, many other companies sprung up as agents of other insurance companies in other countries. 1958 saw the establishment of the State Insurance Corporation and subsequently, laws to regulate the insurance industry as the sector kept growing.
Insurance companies in Ghana
Insurance is usually broken down into two parts: life insurance and general insurance. There are companies that specialize in providing each of these parts and some also provide both life and general services. There are the largest insurance companies in Ghana by market share.
Enterprise Insurance – Market share: 13.4%
One cannot talk about Insurance in Ghana without mentioning the contributions of Enterprise Insurance Company. Established in 1924 in Ghana (then known as Gold Coast), Barclays Bank acted as an agent for UK’s Royal Exchange Assurance Corporation.
This became the first of many insurance companies to operate in Ghana. As the years went by, the Royal Exchange Assurance Corporation underwent a series of acquisitions and changes and in 1977, its name was changed to Enterprise Insurance Company and in 1990, it became one of the first companies to be listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
Enterprise Insurance has grown to become the biggest private insurer in Ghana. Enterprise Insurance offers both life and general insurance packages and they have the largest market share in the industry, mostly due to their hard work and trust they have built over the years. Some of their non-life policies are motor, home, travel, personal accident, household content, goods in transit, electronic equipment, marine and money insurances.
The newest and policy in their policy belt is pet insurance, which covers the medical expenses, accidental death, public liability and many more.
State Insurance Company (SIC) – Market share: 12.5%
SIC insurance company is the only one that is fully owned by the Government of Ghana and is the second largest in terms of market share following Enterprise Insurance. In 1955, Gold Coast Insurance Company was set up and it was renamed as Ghana Insurance Company after Ghana’s Independence in 1957.
In 1960, when Ghana became a Republic, Ghana Insurance Company which primarily dealt with Life Insurance created a subsidiary – Ghana General Insurance Company – that dealt with non-life insurances. 2 years later, the government took over and over the years various legislations were enacted that determined how the business was structured and run.
Today, SIC is the leading provider of general or non-life insurance in Ghana and their fire, motor, marine, aviation and accident insurance. SIC also provides specialty insurance services like hoteliers and leisure policy for the hospitality industry.
Hollard Insurance – Market share: 8.90%
Making significant strides in an industry takes a certain level of leadership, drive, innovation and hard work; and it is of a desirable value to any company.
Hollard Insurance has made many strategic decision twists and turns which has ultimately turned out great for the outlook of the company. In 1993, it started out as Madison Insurance in Ghana which was then recapitalized and renamed as Metropolitan Insurance Company Limited four years later.
2006 became the year that Metropolitan Insurance decided to quit the life insurance industry and focus on the general insurance industry. In 2015, Hollard Insurance Company Limited based in South Africa purchased and acquired Metropolitan Insurance and a name change was in order.
The change in leadership also brought a new creative direction for the company and positioned the company to play a better competitive role in the market. Hollard teamed up with Vodafone Ghana to provide insurance for mobile money operators which was underwritten by Hollard – a move hailed by critics. Hollard Insurance have many policies and they include Motor, fire, burglary, personal accident, home, travel, motor fleet, marine and cargo, professional indemnity, product liability policy and many more.
Glico Insurance – Market share: 7.65%
Well known for their creative advertisement shown on television where a car driver who fell off a cliff due to an accident was saved by a cushion which had been designed to spell “GLICO”.
This company has been around since 1987 as a specialist life insurance company, however through hard work, dedication and commitment, GLICO has grown into a force to reckoned with in the insurance industry, garnering some awards and accolades in the process.
They have grown over the years by meeting the needs and expectations of the general insuring public by setting the pace and through strong and effective leadership. GLICO has numerous products like End-of-Service Benefit Plan, Anidaso policy (microinsurance), Deposit administration scheme and many more. They provide many solutions to your insurance needs.
Star Assurance – Market share: 7.60%
A plethora of industry awards they have gathered over the years is a testament to the hard work, resilience and pursuit of excellence. Star Assurance for the past 37 years has survived and thrived in the challenging Ghanaian insurance industry.
This is an A-rated company by Global Credit Rating of South Africa and more so, Star Assurance has received several nominations and has been a member of the Ghana Club 100 in the past three decades and was adjudged the best insurance company at 2020 Ghana Business Awards as well as the best customer care award by Ghana Insurance Awards.
Fire and Allied perils, motor policies, general accident policies, marine insurance policies, engineering insurance, travel insurance, aviation insurance are some of their policies as well as their life insurance department.
If you’re looking for the best insurance companies in Ghana, these are the leading companies that many Ghanaians trust and patronize their services because of their positive track record and we hope this helps you make an informed decision.
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hello
your publications have very helpful my thesis work. please could help me with the lists of foreign owned insurance companies in gahan?