Yesterday�s floods could cost insurance companies as much as 20 million dollars. This would come in the form of payments for claims for damages to property as well as for disruptions to business operations.
The Chief Executive of Quality Insurance Company, Kobina Addison explained to Joy Business his company alone may have to pay out about a million dollars to clients.
He said the company will make payments covering �assets, that is, motor vehicle, buildings, machinery, stocks, raw materials and even manufactured stock.�
Mr Addison said the destruction caused by the floods provided an opportunity �to let people know that disasters will happen, you can pray about it, God will listen but one day acts of God will also let you know that we are here to take up your risk.�
Several regions of the country and more importantly the capital, Accra have just experienced severe floods that have claimed nine lives after a massive downpour.
The incident virtually brought Accra to a standstill and many businesses are still counting their losses. Vodafone, Ghana Post, the Ghana Railway Company are just a few of the firms that had their operations disrupted.
Some flights internal were grounded. Motor transport was badly disrupted as several parts of the city were inaccessible for several hours because the major arteries were cut off.
Economic activity was severely disrupted as most businesses asked their staff to stay away and schools in the capital were ordered closed. Automobile dealers had their garages swamped.
Small businesses which make up the large informal sector have been the most affected as many of them had their wares either swept away or their shops inundated by water and so would be out of business for at least a few days.
Most of the small businesses are uninsured so they virtually left to their fate. Though it will be difficult to assess the costs, it could be anything between hundreds of millions of dollars and a billion or even more.
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