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GIA seminar asks whether insurance will lead or follow change in the next decade

Writer: Ghana Insurance Hub
Ghana Insurance Hub
Jul 7
2 min read

The Ghana Insurers Association (GIA) held its 4th International Educational Seminar at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra from Wednesday 8 to Friday 10 July 2026. The theme was "The Next Decade in the Financial Services Sector: Will Insurance Lead or Follow Change".


Opening the three-day event, GIA President Boatemaa Barfour-Awuah, who is also Chief Executive of Star Assurance, said the sector had to move beyond reacting to change and lead with solutions. She named climate change, cyber threats, artificial intelligence and trade disruption among the risks of the coming decade. "The world is safer when insurance leads," she said.


She set out four priorities: responsible adoption of technology, wider access for underserved communities, higher ethical standards and closer collaboration with stakeholders, including the National Insurance Commission (NIC). She also said insurers were compiling claims from recent flooding in Accra and other parts of the country.


Ernest Frimpong, Chief Executive of Bedrock Insurance and Chairman of the GIA's Public Relations and External Liaison Committee, said the seminar was meant to equip professionals to respond to customers, particularly during disasters, and to reassure policyholders that legitimate claims would be paid promptly.


Programme


  • Samuel Ocran, Chief Executive of Star Group, gave a keynote address.

  • Esther Siale of Ghana Re led sessions on emerging trends, innovation and the execution of reinsurance treaties.

  • Jonathan Nana Kwakye of Ghana Re spoke on how disruption in the Strait of Hormuz affects marine underwriting for West African cedants.

  • Richard Omari of Deloitte & Touche covered IFRS 17 and IFRS 18.

  • Thomas Sunday, a former Commissioner of Insurance in Nigeria, gave an international perspective by video link.

  • IT Consortium, Motajo Technologies of Nigeria and KPMG led sessions on artificial intelligence and cyber risk.


WAICA Reinsurance Corporation PLC was headline sponsor, according to Insurance Business. Participants came from Ghana and across the region, and the programme also covered claims management, customer service and professional conduct.


Why it matters


The programme paired technical subjects, such as new accounting standards and treaty reinsurance, with the industry's public-confidence problem. Both Barfour-Awuah and Frimpong tied the seminar to claims handling, which Frimpong said many Ghanaians poorly understand. The event opened nine days after the 29 June floods, which put that claims performance to an immediate test.


Sources


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Ghana Insurance Hub reports news on Ghana's insurance industry, keeps a directory of licensed insurers, reinsurers and brokers, publishes industry reports, and runs The Pulse, a customer rating of insurers.

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