Ghana is a country where micro-insurance should flourish. The life segment (and in the non-life segment, personal accident insurance) should be a major beneficiary of this. ...Initiatives like this will help the life insurance segment to overtake the non-life sector as the larger of Ghana s two insurance markets. A faster rate of growth will see the life segment extend its lead over the non-life market over the forecast period, with life premiums set to account for about --.- of total underwriting activity in Ghana by ----. Nevertheless, life insurance penetration will remain low over the forecast period, even by Sub-Saharan African standards. ...However, we expect to see a relatively high level of premiums growth on a per capita basis. This is reflective of steady growth in Ghanaian household incomes as well as the increased distribution of covers through the development of micro-insurance and other low-cost products.
...Currency movements alongside inflation mean that growth will be higher in local currency terms compared with US dollar terms throughout the forecast period between ---- and ----. Total premiums expected to grow by --.- in ---- in local currency terms, compared with --.- in USD terms. In the non-life sector, we expect growth to average --.- annually in local currency terms and --.- annually in US dollar terms, leading to premiums of GHS-.-bn (USD---mn) in ----. In the slightly larger life insurance segment, we expect to see stronger annual growth of --.- in local currency terms and --.- in US dollar terms between ---- and ----, an increase from the forecasts of -- and -- in the previous quarter. As a result, total premiums will reach GHS-.-bn (USD---mn) by the end of the current forecast period. ...With few smaller players seemingly resistant to merger, the regulator is threatening to remove licences which would lead to liquidation. Consolidation would enable indigenous insurers to underwrite large premiums with the government looking to expand the offshore oil industry, which will require significant cover going forward.
...Ghana s life insurance segment is currently at an embryonic level of development. Density and penetration are, respectively, USD-.- per capita and -.- of GDP. ...
