Cynthia Kwarteng Tufuor, Tema Area Manager, SIC Insurance PLC, has said the increase in road crashes is putting an enormous burden on insurance companies, which pay huge sums of compensation to either victims or their dependants.
Mrs Tufuor, who also has oversight responsibilities over parts of Volta and Eastern Regions, was speaking on the platform of the Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office Road Safety Campaign with the Tema Regional Motor Transport and Traffic Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service.
The campaign seeks to create awareness among road users to honour their respective responsibilities to keep the road safe.
Drivers, especially, are being sensitised to respect road safety regulations.
Mrs Tufuor, commended the GNA-Tema Road Safety Campaign, explaining that already road crashes were a burden on insurance companies, families, and the State as a whole.
Therefore, any activity geared towards reducing the carnage on the roads was worthy.
She said the improvement in road safety was beneficial to the public and the insurance industry because enough savings would be made to guarantee the health and safety of the property of insured victims.
Reducing the number and severity of crashes were generally beneficial to all citizens, while it reduced the volume of claims and compensations paid by insurance firms.
She said SIC Insurance PLC was taking a leadership role to reduce the cause of road safety, therefore, joining the GNA-Tema Regional Office for the Road Safety Campaign would be healthy for the country.
Mrs Tufuor said the company had a transparent claims management procedure for all their clients.
Miss Cynthia Twumasi, Deputy Area Manager, SIC Insurance PLC, debunked the notion that some insurance companies cheated their clients, stating that most of those issues were based on the wrong notion and misunderstanding of the type of insurance policy cover provided.
She said it was important for potential clients to understand clearly, the terms and conditions of the insurance cover they purchased, so they would be compensated appropriately.
She said SIC Insurance PLC paid its claims in a timeous manner, explaining that insurance companies were regulated by the National Insurance Commission which supervised, regulated and controlled the business of insurance in the country.
She, therefore, advised persons whose legitimate claims were not fully honoured by an insurance company to seek appropriate redress through the Commission.
On the need for insurance companies to join the GNA-Tema Road Safety Campaign, Miss Twumasi explained that the benefits from saving lives were greater than reducing the claims paid to victims of crashes.
Mr Francis Ameyibor, GNA Tema Regional Manager, said that the GNA-Tema Regional Office was mobilising key stakeholders, through the road safety campaign, to educate the people to minimise the fatalities in Tema, and the country as a whole.
He said: “Data on road crashes is alarming and we must all in our small ways begin to advocate road safety – we must go and come back home safely”.