Markets across Ghana remain vulnerable despite insurance coverage, as poor planning and inadequate infrastructure put traders at constant risk. Solomon Amah-Kai Lartey, President of The Chartered Insurance Institute of Ghana (CIIG), warns that without proper market design, access routes, and risk management measures, insurance alone cannot protect traders from fires, theft, and other hazards.
Mr. Lartey emphasizes that insurance is essential, but its effectiveness depends on the physical layout and planning of markets. “A single fire can wipe out the hard-earned savings of dozens of market women and traders. Insurance isn’t just paperwork, it’s protection and peace of mind,” he told The High Street Journal.
Most markets in Ghana remain underinsured due to poor infrastructure. Narrow alleys, mixed flammable and non-flammable goods, and unstructured stalls make markets high-risk for insurers, discouraging coverage and exposing traders to severe financial loss. “If you visit our markets today, there are no access routes. So everything is likely to burn down…Most of the time, they are not properly demarcated. So everybody is selling everything anywhere,” Mr. Lartey explained.
While fraudulent claims (moral hazard) exist, he notes that the main challenge lies in physical hazards caused by poor planning. Proper market design, he says, is critical to reducing risk and enabling insurers to provide coverage.
To address these challenges, Mr. Lartey advocates involving insurers and risk managers from the planning stage of new markets. “When we are planning markets, there should be a risk management side of it, which should include insurance. Insurers help with demarcations, firewalls, and access routes,” he said. By integrating insurance and risk management early, district assemblies can ensure underwriting standards are met, making coverage feasible and reliable.
For existing markets, solutions such as microinsurance programs allow traders to individually insure their wares or structures. District assemblies can also work with consultants to create standardized market-wide insurance policies. “Insurance companies have devised ways of providing some microinsurance solutions…so the market women themselves are insuring their wares with insurance companies and some are also insuring their structures,” Mr. Lartey noted.
Graduated premiums make even small-scale traders eligible for meaningful protection, reducing overall market risk. Beyond financial security, properly insured markets encourage orderly operations, safer trading environments, and faster emergency response. “Once there’s a fire, you are almost 99% sure that insurance companies will pay because the things that are required for underwriting…have been done,” he said.
In his view, Ghana’s markets can thrive safely and sustainably, but only if insurance and risk management are integrated into every stage of planning and operation. Proper infrastructure, risk mitigation, and insurance together form the backbone of secure markets that protect traders and bolster local economies.
