Mr Ofori said per the National Insurance Commission’s (NIC’s) claim management guidelines, insurance companies had to respond to claim requests by customers within five days of receipt of those requests, communicate their stance on the claims (whether or not they are genuine) within another five days and make payment within a minimum of four weeks.

Failure by insurance companies to follow the guidelines, he said, would attract sanctions from the NIC.

“The NIC will not hesitate to sanction any company found not complying with its provisions,’’ he said at the inauguration of Loyalty Insurance Company Limited (LIC) in Accra on Friday.

Loyalty Insurance Company is an indigenous insurance company which offers products such as motor, fire, marine, aviation, personal accident, work compensation and product liability insurance.

Be law-abiding

Mr Ofori advised insurance companies to operate in accordance with the laws that governed the industry and also adopt best corporate governance systems, adding: “The objective is to ensure that the operational efficiency of the industry is improved.’’

The ceremony attracted many industry players, such as insurance companies, brokers and other stakeholders.

Mr Ofori urged insurance companies not to engage in any unethical behaviour that would undermine the effort to reverse the low confidence in the industry.

He stressed that it was the duty of all stakeholders to improve people’s confidence in the industry as part of the objective to improve the penetration rate of insurance in the country.

“Policy holders expect nothing but prompt and adequate payment of claims. This is the only way people can have confidence in us,’’ he said.

Loyalty Company’s objective

In his address, the Managing Director of Loyalty Insurance, Mr Frank Yeboah, explained that the aim of the company was to become the leading insurance company in the country with a global presence.

“We want to make insurance attractive and encourage people to see it as a need, not just a formality or a fulfilment of laws,’’ he said.

He noted that the company had invested heavily in technology to serve its customers with speed and in an efficient manner.

“We also look forward to working with all the industry players to further advance the insurance industry,’’ he added.