The Ghana Insurers Association (GIA) has kicked off its 4th International Educational Seminar with a strong call for the insurance industry to stop “following” and start “leading” on the biggest risks facing Africa over the next decade.

Delivering the opening remarks, the President of GIA, Boatemaa Barfour-Awuah, welcomed speakers, partners, and delegates from Nigeria and across the region, both in person and virtually.

“This seminar is special to me because I’m the first under my tenure as President. And every year, the people we choose say something about where we stand,” she said.

Setting the tone for the 3-day event, Mrs. Barfour-Awuah posed one central question: “Over the next decade, will insurance lead or will insurance follow change?”

She noted that in many areas — from payments and fintech to banking channels, IFRS standards, and AI — insurance has often arrived “after it has broken.”

“Banking and credit led and insurance support arrived later. FinTechs led and we watched. Too often, we have studied the way after it has broken,” she said.

The GIA president argued that the next 10 years will be defined by risk — climate volatility, cyber threats, artificial intelligence, and trade disruptions.

“Climate change and flooding and droughts, that comes with risk. And that is the simple truth. The world is safer when insurance leads,” she stated.

She cited the industry’s role in national recovery, noting that insurers paid an estimated GH₵36 million in claims during the June 3rd twin fire and flood disaster of 2015. The industry is currently also compiling claims from recent floods in Accra and other parts of the country.

“When disaster strikes, it is at the doors of insurance that people keep knocking,” she said.

Mrs. Barfour-Awuah outlined four areas where GIA wants the industry to lead over the next three days:

1. Technology – Shaping how AI is used with fairness and the customer at the center.

2. Relevance – Reaching millions still uninsured with products they understand and claims they can trust.

3. Conduct – Building credibility, because “trust remains our greatest currency.”

4. Partnerships – Working with regulators like the NIC “as a partner in building a market that is solvent, fair, and growing.”

She stressed that leadership will require technical depth from underwriters, actuaries, claims teams and IT units, plus strong governance. But above all, it must serve ordinary families and businesses.

“The AI models, the reinsurance treaties, exist for one purpose only. To make insurance more accessible and more trusted for the ordinary family and business who needs it,” she added.

The seminar will feature plenary sessions on the big picture today, followed by breakout streams on life, non-life, reinsurance, accounting & finance, and IT. Topics include claims remediation, motor claims syndication, executing reinsurance treaties, and cyber resilience.

The president urged delegates not to be passive.

“Ask the hard questions. Challenge the speakers respectfully. Challenge each other. Because seminars do not change industries, people do,” she charged.

She concluded with a bold vision: “I believe Ghana can become the insurance innovation hub of West Africa. I believe the next decade can be the decade that insurance stops following and starts leading. My answer is unequivocal. We will lead. Not because it is easy, but because our customers deserve it. And our economy needs it. And Africa requires it.”

The GIA president expressed appreciation to speakers, sponsors, partners, the organizing committee, and the secretariat for making the seminar possible.