'DEAL DIRECTLY WITH SIC' (PAAGE 46, JULY 29, 2010)

Clients of the State Insurance Company (SIC) have been advised to deal directly with the company in respect of their insurance claims instead of hiring the services of lawyers who would in the end be paid a percentage of the amount the lawyer helps a client to claim.
The Area Manager in charge of the Brong Ahafo, Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions, Ms Lydia Bawah, who gave the advice in Sunyani, stressed that it was even easier to deal personally with the insurance company since it was the duty of the company officials to process the claims for the clients rather than resorting to the services of lawyers.
Ms Bawah, who was addressing a seminar for managers and directors of about 19 rural banks in the Brong Ahafo Region, explained that once the proper documentation had been completed by the client, with the assistance of the SIC officials, there was no way the company would renege on its obligation to pay whatever compensation was due a client.
She said many people wrongly perceived SIC officials as cheats as far as the payment of insurance claims was concerned, and added that the company had been advising its clients to deal with its officials directly.
The area manager emphasised that the company would not be in a position to process any claims for payment if the client had not done the necessary documentation.
She declared: ‘‘We are very sympathetic when dealing with individual clients because we want them to enjoy their claims in bulk. If you hire a lawyer he or she is entitled to a percentage of the insurance claims they pursue on behalf of a client’’.
Ms Bawah further urged clients not to pay any money to any insurance broker, since they were paid commission by the company for the duties they performed, adding that without lawyers one could still be paid his or her compensation.
She also insisted that clients should not give out insurance forms to the police to fill on their behalf in the case of motor accidents because they had nothing to do with those forms, and it was never their duty to fill those forms whatsoever.
She explained that the filling of such forms entailed the making of a sketch, which she said, was not beyond the scope of the client.
The participants who said they were overwhelmed by the education they went through, appealed to the organisers to regularly hold such meetings for other departments and agencies as well as those in the private sector in view of the benefits to be derived.