Broadly there are two kinds of insurance:Life Insurance which pays an insurance benefit when the person who is insured dies;Non-Life (General) insurance, which comes in many forms, including property, liability, disability, health and travel.

• Property Insurance provides protection against property damage and the insured is indemnified (compensated) if such damage occurs.
• Liability Insurance provides you with insurance protection if you are found to be liable for causing damage to someone’s health or property.
• Disability Insurance provides protection should you lose your ability to work and earn income, and pays you income if you are unable to work.
• Health Insurance covers certain medical expenses and prescription medications.
• Travel Insurance provides protection against certain adverse occurence during travel such as illness or even missed flights.

Protecting your life and property should be an important part of your financial plan. Insurance protects you from financial problems resulting from damage or loss either to yourself or to your property. It is therefore important that you insure your life and property against any unanticipated accidents, damages or loss. You can take insurance to cover any of the following listed below:

• Death
• Accident
• Theft
• Fire
• Loss
• Damage
• Disability Health.

There are many insurance companies that offer Life insurance and many others that offer Non-life (General) Insurance in Ghana.You can go to any of these insurance companies and take out insurance.Once you contact them, their staff will advise you on what they offer and what is best suited to your insurance need.Click to see the list of GIA accredited Life Insurance Companies and Non-Life (General) Insurance Companies.Insurance – Some Basic Steps

• Contact an insurance company, an insurance broker or an insurance agent
• Discuss your insurance needs with them.
• Think     about the options carefully and then choose the product(s) that meet(s) your needs
• Supply truthful information for the completion of the insurance contract documents
• Sign the insurance contractPay your premium
• Receive an insurance cover for the risk(s) you have insured.

When should you take Insurance?
Once you have life with its possible unwanted outcomes, it is advisable to take an insurance against such possible unwanted outcomes. Also, as soon as you acquire a property it is advisable to choose an insurance to cover the risk of damage or loss to the property. Again anytime you have liability to another person for any damage you may cause the person, it is advisable to insure the liability. For liability insurance in the form of third party motor vehicle, commercial building under construction and commercial buildings you are required by law to take out insurance as an owner.

This is what you are paid in the case of an accident or loss for which you have insured. Once you have entered into an insurance contract and paid your premium, you are entitled to compensation from the insurance company for any damage or loss suffered. The extent of compensation depends on the type of insurance.

Under all insurance contracts, damages or losses incurred must be reported to the insurance company for the purpose of making a claim. In most cases a report must also be made to the police. Under a motor insurance for example, you must report any accident to the police as soon as it occurs to enable you to begin the processes for making insurance claims.Failure to report an accident can subject you to personal liability if the persons involved later find themselves to be injured and your insurance company denies the claims due to your failure to report the accident promptly.

insureGhana.com is a website built to serve as a platform for information broking in the insurance industry in Ghana.

It is set up by a group of IT Specialists working with Marketellos Consult with several years of experience in providing software solutions and deals with all kinds of IT business solutions in the insurance industry.

This site was born out of frustration and difficulty that the founder went through when gathering information in the insurance industry during his MBA thesis programme.

The Main objectives of the site are;

to serve as an educational platform for consumers
to enhance consumer trust in the insurance industry
to enter into partnership with experts in the industry and
provide analysis of insurance industry performance and indicators

It started after one of the founders found it extremely difficult to gather information in the insurance industry during his MBA thesis programme. Access to information in the industry was very difficult.

The site is set up in an attempt to find answers or solutions to the following questions
1. Which insurance products do I buy and which insurance company do I place my insurance policy with?
2. Do I go to insurance company direct or do I use insurance broker?
3. How do I report insurance claims and what is required of me if my car got damaged or I am involved in an accident?
4. What do I gain if I have an insurance policy?

• Report the loss to the insurer and fill the accident report form.
• Attach a copy of the driver’s license.
• Furnish the insurer with an estimate of the cost of repairs from either the insurer’s recommended garage or a repairer of your choice.
• Provide pictures of the damaged vehicle, clearly showing the registration number of the accident vehicle.
• Allow damaged vehicle to be inspected by the insurer’s surveyor before the commencement of repairs.
• Police report would be required, depending on the circumstances leading to the loss.
  
  

B. Property damage claim

• Letter of claim
• Police Report
• Furnish the insurer with an estimate of the cost of repairs from either the insurer’s recommended garage or a repairer of your choice.
• Provide pictures of the damaged vehicle.
• Provide driving license of the insured’s driver.

C. Injury cases·

• Letter of claim
• Police Report
• Medical report
• Original receipts of Medical Bill incurred (To justify the cost being claimed for)
• Sworn Affidavit.

Two (2) passport-size pictures of the injured victim endorsed by the doctor who treated the victim.D. Deceased (death) cases

• Letter of claim
• Police Report
• Death Certificate/Burial permit/Post-mortem report
• Letters of Administration
• Personal Particulars of the deceased
• Sworn Affidavit
• Endorsed passport size pictures of Administrators (two each).

In all cases, a discharge form which states the agreed quantum (amount) will be issued by the insurance company to the insured or claimant for execution and forwarded back to enable us process the cheque.

1. If your vehicle was driven without your consent, order or permission.
2. When an unlicensed driver was driving
3. When the claim is statute barred i.e claims not submitted within the three (3) or six (6) years period.
4. Where there was a change of ownership on the vehicle without reference to us.
5. Using the vehicle whilst the driver was drunk.
6. Using the vehicle for unauthorized purposes.

Non-motor insurance comprise of several lines example public liability, professional indemnity, personal accident etc. Each non-motor insurance claim has its own specific claims procedure and conditions.Generally, when an accident occurs the insured should comply with the following :

• Report to the police.
• Contact your broker/insurer and fill the specific claim form.
• Do not settle or negotiate to settle, admit or repudiate any claim without the consent of your broker/insurer.
• Forward all relevant documentary evidence in respect of the loss.
• Forward all claims, writs of summons or letters from third parties to your broker/insurer through insureghana.com.

• The insured (policy holder)
• The third party whose property has been damaged by our insured's vehicle
• The injured victim
• Administrators of a deceased estate
• Parents/guardians in the case of minor.