Star Assurance Company Limited, the largest wholly owned Ghanaian insurance company posted impressive growth and expanded its operations across the country.
The company in the 2015 financial year generated a gross premium income of GH¢93 million representing a 29% year-on-year growth over that of 2014. The Company also hit an assets base of GH¢121 million representing 25% rise over the previous year.
This performance follows consistent growth in gross premium income and increase in the assets of the company over the last five years. General Accident and Motor policies were the biggest contributors to gross premium income with GH¢36 million and GH¢35 million respectively, followed by Fire with GH¢15 million and the other policies summing up to GH¢7 million.
The commitment of Star Assurance to extend insurance to the informal sector of the economy was evident in its entry into the Microinsurance market and grossing up GH¢1 million in terms of premium. This was achieved through the company’s partnerships with Microinsurance firms particularly Star Microinsurance Company. Star Assurance is poised to establish itself as a clear market leader in the small and medium-sized enterprises market as it sees Ghana’s large SME sector as a key driver of growth in the industry.
With over 30 years experience in the insurance business, Star Assurance Company has managed to hold its own over the past years and controls about 17% share of the insurance market resulting from prudent management and sound business strategy driven by highly skilled professionals.
The company improved its financial status, upgraded its operational infrastructure, improved the skills of its over 150 professionals among others. The business simultaneously further extended its national presence and invested in technology and product distribution channels to enhance its operations and to deepen penetration of insurance products and services to the Ghanaian market.
In 2015 Star Assurance added four new branches to its existing seventeen branches in seven regional capitals of the country and established new agency offices to add to its over 150 agency offices located across the country. The Company launched the Star E-Insurance platform as part of the company’s strategy to increase penetration of insurance products and services in the market, as well as taking insurance closer to the insuring public.
The launch of Star e-insurance was in response to the increasing busy schedules of customers as well as the opportunities identified in the increasing use of Internet and technology by consumers. Star Assurance leveraged its investment in technology to provide the opportunity for its customers and pick up new policies as well as renew existing policies in the comfort of their homes, offices and wherever they could be without the stress of driving through traffic.
According to the Managing Director, Mr. Kofi Duffuor, Star Assurance the plans to consolidate its position in the industry through continuous investments in IT infrastructure and human capital and continue to put smiles on the faces of its customers. “We are becoming bigger, better and more competitive†stated Mr. Kofi Duffuor. By way of fulfilling its promise of solid partnership with the clients and standing by them during difficult times, the company paid a total of GH¢ 25 million in Claims made during the year 2015.
Also as part of the company’s commitment to its community and the Ghanaian economy as a whole, engaged in a number of corporate social responsibility activities including its flagship Thought-Leadership program dubbed ‘the National Insurance Forum’; an event organized to bring together various stakeholders in the insurance industry to discuss pertinent issues affecting the industry and presenting papers, which seeks to champion the development of the industry and the Ghanaian economy as a whole. The 2015 edition looked at building financial capacity for the Insurance industry to play active role in the Oil & Gas sector in Ghana and creating enabling environment for Local Contents participation in the Oil & Gas sector in Ghana; Opportunities available to the insurance industry. The focus on the Oil and Gas sector and particularly the role of the insurance industry in Ghana and how the industry can benefit from the revenue potential from the local contents of the sector. The discussions centered on building a strong financial backbone for the industry to support its active participation in the Oil and Gas sector.
The company among others donated cash and items to various individuals and institutions by way of contributing to the well being of such beneficiaries and the institutions.
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The Managing Director stated that they are very optimistic in the prospects of the company and added that the future could only be brighter.