West Africa's reinsurance market faces a documented capacity shortfall at the same moment Ghana's insurance sector is being asked to close it. That tension shaped the programme of the Ghana Insurers Association's 4th International Educational Seminar, held in Accra from July 8 to 10, the Business & Financial Times reported.
The event at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel was themed "The Next Decade in the Financial Services Sector: Will Insurance Lead or Follow Change?" WAICA Reinsurance Corporation PLC was the headline sponsor.
Ghana Re's Esther Siale led dedicated sessions on emerging trends, innovation and reinsurance treaty execution. Ghana Re's Jonathan Nana Kwakye examined how Strait of Hormuz developments are affecting marine insurance underwriting for West African cedants reliant on international reinsurers.
Both sessions addressed a challenge AM Best documented in October 2025. The agency's market segment report found that capacity from Africa-domiciled reinsurers remains insufficient for complex risks such as property and energy exposures. As local economies industrialise, insurance requirements have grown faster than the region's ability to retain risk. Retention ratios have declined, with most reinsurers depending on retrocession and technical expertise from larger global players.
Africa recorded US$9 billion in economic losses in 2024, against a 10-year average of US$6 billion, according to Gallagher Re data cited by AM Best.
The scale of the challenge is clear from market data. Africa's reinsurance market generated around US$6.3 billion in premiums in 2024, just 1.6% of global reinsurance underwriting, according to Africa Re. Insurance penetration across most of the continent remains below 3%, against a global average of approximately 7.4%, according to the NIC.
Richard Omari of Deloitte & Touche led sessions on IFRS 17 and IFRS 18. They covered financial statement presentation, board reporting, risk-based capital implementation, solvency management and investment portfolio strategies. The IFRS agenda addresses the capital adequacy pressure Ghana's post-DDEP insurance market is navigating.
Artificial intelligence also featured prominently. Presentations covered the role of human underwriters in an AI-driven environment, cognitive technologies applied to insurance growth, and cyber resilience. Those sessions were led by experts from IT Consortium, Motajo Technologies of Nigeria and KPMG.
The opening day featured two plenary sessions. Samuel Ocran, CEO of Star Group, delivered the keynote. Thomas Sunday, former Commissioner of Insurance in Nigeria, joined virtually for an international perspective.
GIA President Mrs Boatemaa Barfour-Awuah, CEO of Star Assurance, said the sector must act as a provider of solutions rather than a follower of change. "The world is safer when insurance leads," she said. "The next decade can be the decade that insurance stops following and starts leading."
