Star Assurance Shines Brightest
Star Assurance is incontrovertible proof that the combination of deep local knowledge of Ghana’s business and social environments put together with best international practice in insurance policy underwriting, claims management and investment management, make for the best non-life insurance product delivery in the country.
Having commenced business in 1985, and going up against bigger, older and better connected competitors, Star Assurance has, over the past three and a half decades, climbed to the top of Ghana’s insurance industry by the sheer superior quality and unparalleled relevance of its products and how it delivers them to private enterprise, public institutions and households and individuals alike.
Today, Star Assurance is the biggest privately owned non-life insurer in Ghana with total assets of GHc318 million by the end of 2018. Its superior size, which illuminates its superior financial solidity, reflects its market leadership with regard to business volumes – it is one of the three biggest gross premium generating non-life insurers in Ghana, attracting GHc126 million in 2018; this bettered only by the partly state owned SIC Insurance and the century old multinational Enterprise Insurance. This gives Star an 11 percent market share in a ferociously competitive market.
Behind this lies Star’s biggest competitive strength, which it confers directly on its clients: superior understanding of the peculiar business household risks thrown up by Ghana’s operating environment and how to minimize them. Over the past 35 years, Ghana’s insuring public has increasingly come to realize that this indigenous, privately owned non-life insurer has a better understanding of these, than any other insurer in Ghana, and has the financial muscle to ensure that this superior knowledge is put to best use when those risks actually occur.
Notwithstanding the sheer quality of Star’s policy underwriting, which creates insurance policies that in themselves greatly reduce the risks that its clients face, the Company in 2018 paid over GHc28million in claims to its policy holders, which indeed was 22 percent of premium income for 2018. This is simply because of the exemplary willingness which the Company has, to settle claims requests. This willingness is fully supported by the requisite financial wherewithal provided by the largest asset base in Ghana’s general insurance industry; indeed Star Assurance is rated “A” with regard to claims payment capacity by Global Credit Rating of South Africa.
Star Assurance offers products across the full spectrum of manageable risks, both compulsory and discretionary.
With regard to motor insurance it offers both comprehensive and third party insurance cover, and it offers a full range of fire and allied perils insurance for properties too. Its marine insurance coverage includes hull, cargo and third party liability insurance, while for the aviation sector its offers cover for hull, engines, spare parts, equipment and third party liability.
Importantly, Star offers the most comprehensive engineering insurance in Ghana, ranging from contractors all-risk to segmented coverage of this, and also to indemnity against business disruption of various kinds and even deterioration of goods in cold storage. Added to all these are a full range of bonds for contractors and the full spectrum of customs bonds.
Superior products are delivered by exceptionally convenient means. Star’s mobile app enables clients to structure and buy policies online and change them online too, when they see the need.
In recognising itself as a responsible corporate citizen and to contribute to the development of Ghana’s economy, Star Assurance has paid about GHc14million as direct corporate tax to the government in the last two years.
Little wonder then that Star Assurance is indeed the brightest star shining in Ghana’s non-life insurance firmament.
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Source: goldstreetbusiness.com
