The Senior Freight and Logistics Officer at the Ghana Shippers Authority, Mr Abdul Haki Bashiru-Dine has reiterated the importance of insuring cargo locally under the recently signed cargo insurance protocol by industry stakeholders.
He bemoaned that only 6 percent of Ghana’s international trade of over 76 billion cedis in 2019, was insured locally, which is expected to further reduce to 4.5 percent based on provisional figures for 2020, he pointed out.
This situation, he said, was not the best given that shippers are too exposed to the international insurance market which did not necessarily promote their interest.
Mr Bashiru-Dine made the statement when speaking at a sensitization exercise for the Shipping Community on the benefits of insuring their Cargo locally as part of the Government’s efforts to ensure that Ghanaian Shippers are protected in their international trade transactions.
He explained that the practice also has implications for the cedi stability and foreign exchange market and consequently a negative impact on shippers in terms of their trade cost which was already high.
He mentioned other benefits to shippers as the ability to choose an insurer, payment of relatively cheaper premiums, and quick and easy processing of claims when shippers suffer losses.
He added that it offers a strong regulatory oversight by the National Insurance Commission (NIC) and the Ghana Shippers Authority to ensure the right insurance policies were applied for various types of shipments.
According to him, a well regulated and supervised insurance market also benefits shippers in terms of placement of cargo insurance providing protection and facilitation of international trade for shippers in Ghana.
He said, in addition, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) would be able to rely on insurance values and consequently, shippers would be competitive in their duty payments.
Mr Bashiru-Dine argued that the non-compliance by shippers of the Insurance Act 2006, Act 724, exposes them to foreign underwriters which creates challenges for shippers when they suffer loss or damage to goods.
He disclosed that the cargo insurance protocols were developed through a collaboration between the NIC, the GRA, and the Ghana Shippers Authority with technical support from the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, GRA to ensure compliance with the Insurance Act while at the same time protect shippers in Ghana.
He explained that as part of steps towards implementation of the protocols, sensitization exercises have been lined up across the various shipper committees of the Ghana Shippers Authority in the Country and other key stakeholders in the shipping industry.
Story: Seth Ameyaw Danquah
