Insurance C’ssion cautioned about issuing of licenses
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MMI International, the holding company of Metropolitan Insurance, Mr Blum Khan, has advised the National Pensions and Regulatory Authority (NPRA) to exercise caution when licensing institutions and individuals to play under the New Pensions Act.
He also advised the authority to ensure that the right structures, technology platforms and policies were in place to help support a smooth take-off of the sector.
Mr Khan explained that the delicate nature of pensions required that only people and organisations with integrity were entrusted with workers’ funds to manage and invest.
“It requires a lot of experience, technology and integrity. Now if you do not have all that, then you should not be allowed to participate because this is people’s lifetime savings and you should have the track record to be able to make the right decisions,” Mr Khan, who is in the country for a four-day working visit, told the Daily Graphic.
His visit is in line with plans by MMI International, a South African company with operations in 12 countries, including Ghana, to explore investment opportunities in the country.
Tapping our experiences
The group has been operating for over 116 years with specialisations in the pensions and insurance industries.
Its Ghana business, which started about eight years ago, currently comprises Metropolitan Life, Metropolitan Pensions and Metropolitan Health.
It has plans to diversify into other areas within the financial services sector.
Having operated in the pensions industry for over a century, MMI’s CEO said the company had gathered enormous experiences in the sector and pledged to put that at the disposal of NPRA and other stakeholders as it seeks to partner relevant institutions to grow the sector.
“In South Africa, we take care of the health needs of over one million public sector workers, including police officers whom we pay for their medical bills and stuff like that. We also have a lot of exposure in this pensions industry, which is just at its infant stages in Ghana. The idea now is to put all those experiences to the disposal of the regulator so that together, we can help grow the sector,” he said.
Confidence in Ghana
Mr Khan said the group will seek to deepen its presence in the country given the enormous investment opportunities that currently existed.
While admitting that the recent challenges with the economy had reflected in the operations of its local arm, he said his outfit was confident things will normalise in the coming months for businesses to continue to thrive.
“Every economy goes through its stages of growth and I think that is what the Ghana economy is doing right now. What we need to do is get proper regulations and structures in place so that it can help support the growth that is anticipated,” he said.
The Chief Executive of Metropolitan Insurance Company Limited, Mr A. J. Kruger, also gave an assurance of the company’s commitment to the Ghana market, explaining that the group had pledged its support for the business in future expansion plans.
As part of his visit, Mr Khan, who was accompanied by some executives from the company, paid a courtesy call on the National Insurance Commission (NIC) to familiarise himself with the requirements and operations of the regulator.