Insurers in Ghana do not have a good reputation for paying, and some of that is earned. But a large share of refused or stalled claims fail for reasons the policyholder could have avoided. This is how to make a claim that is hard to refuse, and what to do when one is refused anyway.

Before anything happens

  • Have the policy document, not just the sticker or certificate. The wording - the long version - is what decides a claim.
  • Know your excess: the part of every claim you pay yourself.
  • Keep the receipts for the premium. Under the Insurance Act, 2021, a person who has not paid has no cover, and “I paid the agent” is a common dispute.
  • Tell the insurer when things change - you started using the car for ride-hailing, you moved, the shop now stores fuel. An undisclosed change is the classic reason for refusing a claim.

Making the claim

  1. Tell the insurer at once, in writing. Email, or a letter you get stamped as received. A phone call to an agent is not notice. Most policies set a short window.
  2. Make the loss smaller where you can. Move what can be saved, cover a broken window. Insurers can refuse the part you let get worse.
  3. Get the reports the claim needs. A police report for a crash or a theft; a fire report from the Ghana National Fire Service for a fire; a medical report for an injury; a death certificate for a life policy.
  4. Do not repair or throw anything away until the insurer’s assessor has seen it or agreed in writing that you can.
  5. Fill in the claim form completely and attach copies - never originals - of everything: policy, receipts, reports, photographs, estimates.
  6. Keep a log of every call, with the date and the name of the person.

— Motor insurance, and after a crash

Why claims are refused

  • Late notice.
  • Non-disclosure - something the insurer was not told when the policy was bought or renewed.
  • An exclusion - the policy wording leaves this loss out. Read it before arguing.
  • Unpaid or lapsed premium.
  • No police or fire report.
  • Use outside the policy - a private car insurance on a car working as a taxi, a driver without a valid licence.

Ask for the refusal in writing, with the clause of the policy it relies on. An insurer that will not put a reason in writing is in a weak position.

When the insurer stalls or refuses

Complain to the insurer first, in writing, to its complaints or customer service unit rather than your agent, and keep the reply.

If it does not resolve it, take it to the National Insurance Commission. It takes complaints about insurers that have not been resolved, it costs nothing, and it can mediate both delay and disputes over how much should be paid:

  • Online: the NIC Complaints Hub, linked from nic.gov.gh/consumers/complaints, where you can track the complaint.
  • Otherwise: info@nic.gov.gh, or the Commission’s office in Accra.

Send it your policy or claim number, the dates, and copies of every letter and email - the log you kept is what makes this quick.

The NIC has at different times directed insurers to respond to claims within days and pay genuine ones within weeks, but no deadline is written into the Act itself. Quote the Commission’s current directive in your complaint if your claim has been sitting for months.

If you are the victim of an uninsured driver

That is a different route: the Motor Compensation Fund, for death and injury caused by a driver with no insurer to claim from.

— Motor insurance — Insurance in Ghana — Complaining about a bank or MoMo provider