AMA develops an insurance policy for companies to minimize risks

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) is developing an insurance policy for all businesses in the jurisdiction to minimize the effects of a disaster on them.

The policy aims to protect businesses against floods and fires; the natural disasters commonly experienced in the region.

The policy is developed as part of the Climate and Health Risk Management Approaches project in collaboration with the German Development Cooperation, GIZ.

Speaking yesterday in an interview with the Ghanaian Times on the sidelines of a project closure workshop in Accra, WADA Director General Mohammed Adjei Sowah said the project would mitigate the effects of disasters on businesses and households in Accra.

“The impact of the floods in Accra is affecting the economy and livelihoods and this intervention would promote sustainable lifestyles. Business and household uninsurance in Accra is widespread and because they are prone to disasters, insurance companies hardly contact them.

“In this regard, we are working with some insurance companies to understand the risks associated with working with informal sector actors and to be able to integrate them into their insurance formulas,” he said.

He said even companies keen to insure their properties were struggling to find insurers because of the risk involved, hence the need to make Accra a city resilient to flooding in particular.

He revealed that since the double disaster of June 3, 2015 that left at least 150 people dead in Accra, affected auto companies along the Graphic Route have threatened to relocate their activities out of the country because insurance companies failed were unwilling to insure them because of the risks. they faced.

“Moreover, the central government has given priority to the construction of drains in this area and that is why we have not experienced any flooding there over the past two years,” he said. declared.

Accra, he said, is more resilient than two years ago; a situation he attributed to efficient waste management, construction of drains and the constant dredging of the Odaw and Korley Lagoon and other drains in the city.

“These are clear interventions that gradually move Accra towards resilience,” he said.

GIZ National Director Ms Regina Bauerochse Barbosa said in her welcome speech that the annual flooding in the capital has serious consequences for the country and must be addressed.

As a result, she said it had become imperative to develop strategies to minimize the effects of disasters such as floods, including the development of holistic approaches such as risk transfer solutions.

The theme of the workshop was: “Looking to the Future on Flood Management”.