Justice Kwasi Annin-Yeboah, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, has urged judges to expand their knowledge and understating of the new Insurance Act, 2021 (Act 1061) to apply and resolve insurance cases under the Act . This comes after the repeal of the Insurance Act, 2006 (Act 724), which occupied the insurance industry for about 15 years.
In a speech read on his behalf at the opening ceremony of the Nationwide Insurance Workshop for High Court Judges by the National Insurance Commission (NIC), Justice Dennis Adjei, an Appeal Court Judge and Acting Director of the Judicial Training Institute, reiterated the importance of understanding the new changes captured in the new Insurance Act.
He said the new insurance law covered both statutory regime and common law in addition to new charges introduced by the Act. “As judges, we are mandated to resolve all disputes and legalities that may come before us under the Act and we should be able to resolve them in accordance and purpose for which the Act was enacted,” Justice Dennis Adjei said.
“We as judges must understand what the Act seeks to address and apply the Act to promote the interests of stakeholders in the insurance industry, particularly the citizenry,” he added.He explained that the Insurance Act, 2021 (Act 1061) comprised 261 sections that covered different aspects of insurance.
These, according to him included solvency and capital requirements, transfers and mergers, licensing, statutory deposits, mediation of complaints, whistle blowing, financial provisions, among others.
Justice Dennis Adjei also called on the insurance regulator; NIC to ensure the workshop and sensitisation exercise on the new Insurance Act was extended to magistrates, circuit and district court judges across the country.
For now, the insurance workshop is targeted at Judges of the High Court, Appeal Court, and Supreme Court of Ghana. Dr. Justice Ofori, Commissioner of Insurance, said the Ghana Insurance College (GIC) would soon begin engagements with the Judicial Training Institute to incorporate Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) into the College’s training modules.
“This is to inculcate good negotiation and other ADR skills in insurance practitioners not to impede amicable settlement of insurance cases, and reduce insurance-related litigations,” Dr. Ofori said.
By Hannah Awadzi
Source: GNA
