GES-SICLife Group Life Insurance Policy launched
The Ghana Education Service (GES)-SICLife Group Life Insurance Policy has been launched in Accra with the payment of insurance claims to beneficiaries of five teachers who have passed on and two others who are incapacitated.
Deceased
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The deceased are a former Religious and Moral Education teacher of the Salvation Army Basic School at Asiakwa in the Eastern Region, Mr George Somuah Bosompem, who was allegedly murdered by six youth, a former headteacher of the Akim Oda Anglican Basic School, Mr Amos Aboagye and a former teacher of the Apau Wawase Basic School, Mr Sampson Amoako Attah Narh.
The rest are 56-year-old Mr Kwame Kyei, formerly of the Mangoase Senior High School (SHS), and Mr Bruno Ayitey, a former teacher of the Kodeabe Basic School in the Shai Osudoku District.
Incapacitation
Those who received claims for suffering incapacitation were Madam Yohebeth Anyadi, a teacher in the Volta Region who had been diagnosed of a critical illness and Mr Kofi Nartey, a teacher at Klo Agogo in the Yilo Krobo District, who was shot by armed robbers in his house resulting in the amputation of his arm.
The insurance policy is a government initiative to help improve the welfare of teachers and under its terms, all employees of the GES in active service are eligible to be members.
The policy will be rolled out beginning July 2019, when the Controller and Accountant General’s Department will begin the deduction of GH¢10 from all public school teachers and GES staff.
Welfare of teachers
In a speech to launch the policy, which was read on his behalf, the Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, expressed gratitude to the SICLife Company Ltd “for agreeing” to facilitate government’s scheme to ensure that teachers and non-teaching staff of the GES were well-catered for.
“It is our expectation that you will make the welfare of GES staff, a primary concern and deliver a focused effective client service to them,” he said.
The minister’s speech was read by Prof. Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa.
He talked about President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s conviction that it was important for the economy to grow, for it to be able to offer realistic incentives to teachers and non-teaching staff of the GES.
“It is on this basis that the government decided to insure all teachers and staff of the GES to cover death, injury and critical illness, by matching their monthly premium into the scheme to be run by SICLife,” Dr Prempeh said.
Appropriate policy
In a statement read on behalf of Prof. Opoku-Amankwa, he said over the years, the service had received reports of staff who were involved in accidents or suffered critical illnesses and sought assistance from the service and described that as worrying.
He indicated that for that reason, “the management of the GES fully endorses this policy and highly recommends it to all the staff.”
The Managing Director of the SICLife, Mrs Elizabeth Wyns-Dogbe, explained that the policy was comprehensive and covered natural or accidental death, permanent disability resulting from accident or illness and critical illnesses such as cancer, stroke, major organ transplant and kidney failure.
She said the good thing was that, there was a cashback of 10 per cent if no claim was made within three years.
A beneficiary of the policy, who is also the SICLife policy ambassador, Mr Kwasi Tenkorang Aduonum, explained the importance of the policy and how it saved him from a gunshot injury he suffered while with the Ghana Armed Forces.
