By Florence Afriyie Mensah
Kumasi, Nov. 8, GNA – St. John Bosco College of Education located at Navrongo in the Upper East region, emerged northern zone winners of the maiden National Tertiary Insurance Debate competition.
They beat their opponents from the Bolgatanga Technical University with 72 points to win the contest which involved eight universities and colleges from the northern sector of the country.
The competition, held at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) campus in Kumasi, was organized by the Insurance Awareness Coordinators Group (IACG).
A total of 16 Insurance Awareness Clubs from the selected tertiary institutions nationwide engaged in the competition (eight from northern zone and eight from southern zone).
The debate seeks to increase the insurance knowledge levels of tertiary students, clear misconceptions students have about insurance and empower them to be agents of change in communities.
According to Mr. Gabriel Kwame, a representative of the Chairman, IACG, the Clubs formed in the various universities were part of the “Think Future Think Insurance” educational campaign, a roadshow organized in 39 tertiary campuses from June to September 2022.
“We believe that catching them young at this stage brings the best out of the students.
In a growing economy you need people who understand financial products, and for us, we believe that if we are able to impact critical knowledge of insurance to students at this stage, they grow into future leaders who will enhance the economy, he explained.”
The formation of the Clubs were spearheaded by the IACG, with support from the German Development Corporation (GIZ), the National Insurance Commission (NIC), Ghana Insurers Association (GIA), Chartered Insurance Institute of Ghana (CIIG), National Association of Ghana Insurance Agents (NAGIA), and Insurance Brokers Association of Ghana (IBAG).
He was hopeful the event would see growth in the years ahead and commended the IACG and the various insurance industry players for resolving to promote insurance awareness and education in Ghana.
Mr. Dennis Farouk Dramani, Ashanti Regional Manager, NIC, said much education on insurance had been done in the last two years, which had ensured remarkable growth in insurance coverage.
He said the insurance coverage jumped from 30 per cent in 2020 to 45 per cent in 2022.
GNA