{"id":112234,"date":"2026-01-22T20:16:51","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T20:16:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=112234"},"modified":"2026-01-22T20:16:51","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T20:16:51","slug":"ibag-president-backs-mandatory-local-cargo-insurance-says-policy-will-boost-cedi-and-protect-importers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=112234","title":{"rendered":"IBAG President backs mandatory Local Cargo Insurance, says policy will boost cedi and protect importers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>2 Minute, 44 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
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The newly sworn-in President of the Insurance Brokers Association of Ghana (IBAG), Stephen Kwarteng Yeboah, has thrown his full support behind the Ministry of Finance\u2019s directive mandating Local Cargo Insurance for all commercial imports beginning February 1, 2026, describing it as a \u201cdouble win\u201d for both the economy and importers.<\/p>\n

Speaking in an exclusive interview with JoyNews<\/strong> at the investiture ceremony in Accra, Mr. Yeboah said the policy has been misunderstood, urging stakeholders to \u201cfocus on the benefits, not the noise.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOne key benefit Ghana will get is the stability of our currency. Cargo insurance premiums that used to be paid offshore will now remain in the country,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"IBAG<\/figure>\n

According to him, local insurers supporting importers during cargo damage or loss is long overdue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen goods get damaged, a local insurance company is going to support you. Importers must see this as protection, not punishment,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The Ministry of Finance has directed the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) to begin strict enforcement of the policy, which requires that all imported cargo be insured with Ghanaian insurers rather than foreign companies.<\/p>\n

The investiture, held at the NIC Auditorium in Accra, formally ushered Mr. Yeboah and the new IBAG Council into office. <\/p>\n

The event was attended by key industry leaders, including: Dr. Abiba Zakariah, Commissioner of Insurance, Nana Appiagyei Dankawoso I (Omanhene Kyeame, Asante Juaben Traditional Area), Special Guest of Honour, representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Presidents of GIA, CIIG and other insurance bodies.<\/p>\n

\"IBAG<\/figure>\n

In his inaugural address, the new IBAG President outlined a series of priority areas he intends to champion in the coming years many of them tied to improving professionalism, eliminating regulatory bottlenecks and strengthening the image of brokers.<\/p>\n

Mr. Yeboah pledged to reposition insurance brokers as credible, indispensable actors in the industry.
Among his key thematic areas were:<\/p>\n

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  1. Strengthening Professional Capacity<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    He promised practical, industry-led training programmes in collaboration with the Ghana Insurance University College to equip brokers with modern skills.<\/p>\n

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    1. Cleaning Up the Regulatory Environment<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      He highlighted the burden of multiple licences required for brokers, calling for a streamlined regime with the NIC as the sole regulator.<\/p>\n

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      1. Guidelines for Engaging and Disengaging Brokers<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        He described current practices as \u201cmessy\u201d and said IBAG will work with the NIC to develop urgent market conduct rules.<\/p>\n

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        1. Reviving an Upstream Energy Pool<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          He announced plans to seek amendments to the Petroleum (Local Content and Participation) Regulations so brokers can collectively benefit from upstream oil and gas business.<\/p>\n

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          1. Developing IBAG\u2019s Kanda Property<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            The new council intends to transform the property into a modern office space for the secretariat and GIICU.<\/p>\n

            \"IBAG<\/figure>\n

            Commissioner of Insurance, Dr. Abiba Zakariah, who witnessed the swearing-in, commended IBAG\u2019s new leadership for its clarity of vision and pledged the NIC\u2019s commitment to eliminating unethical practices such as premium undercutting.<\/p>\n

            She called for deeper collaboration among industry leaders to improve trust and transparency in the insurance market.<\/p>\n

            Mr. Yeboah closed his address by urging brokers to protect the integrity of their profession and guard their space against unlicensed operators.<\/p>\n

            \u201cThose who came ahead of us have done their part. It\u2019s our time to work and be counted,\u201d he said.
            \u201cLet\u2019s unite for a better tomorrow. Together, we can win together.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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            \"IBAGThe newly sworn-in President of the Insurance Brokers Association of Ghana (IBAG), Stephen Kwarteng Yeboah, has thrown his full support behind the Ministry of Finance\u2019s directive mandating Local Cargo Insurance for all commercial imports beginning February 1, 2026, describing it as a \u201cdouble win\u201d for both the economy and importers.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":112235,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[319,15774,15775,1883,10,9,15776],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-insurance-brokers-association-of-ghana-ibag","category-local-cargo-insurance","category-national","category-politics","category-popular","category-stephen-kwarteng-yeboah"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=112234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/112235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=112234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=112234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=112234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}