Insurance Glossary
Plain-language guides to the insurance terms brokers and clients encounter most in Ghana — written by the PolicyPing team.
Comprehensive motor insurance is the highest level of motor cover available in Ghana. Unlike third-party-only policies, it protects your own vehicle as well as covering your liability to other road users.
TPFT stands for Third Party, Fire and Theft. It is a mid-level motor insurance product that covers your vehicle against fire and theft, plus your liability to third parties — but does not cover accidental damage to your own vehicle.
LTA stands for Long Term Agreement. It is a discount granted by an insurer when a client agrees to renew their policy with the same insurer for an agreed number of years — typically two or three. In Ghana it is most commonly applied to non-motor products such as Assets All Risks, fire, and property policies.
Assets All Risks (AAR) is a comprehensive property insurance product that covers physical assets — buildings, contents, stock, machinery, and equipment — against a wide range of perils including fire, theft, flood, and accidental damage. It is one of the most commonly placed non-motor insurance products in Ghana.
No Claims Discount (NCD) is a reduction applied to motor insurance premiums as a reward for claim-free driving. The longer a client goes without making a claim, the higher the discount — up to 50% for private vehicle owners in Ghana after five consecutive claim-free years.
The excess (also called the deductible) is the fixed amount you must pay from your own funds on every insurance claim before the insurer pays the remainder. Understanding your policy excess is essential — it directly affects both your premium and the value of your cover.
An endorsement is a written change to an existing insurance policy. It amends the original policy document to add, remove, or modify cover, change insured details, or adjust the premium mid-term.
An insurance broker in Ghana is a licensed professional who works on behalf of insurance buyers — not insurers — to identify the best cover, negotiate terms, and place policies with NIC-registered insurance companies.
The inception date is the date on which your insurance policy comes into effect — the start of the period of cover. Any loss or damage that occurs before the inception date is not covered by the policy, even if the policy document was issued later.
A debit note is the formal document issued by an insurance broker to a client that sets out the premium due for an insurance policy or renewal. It is the standard billing document in the Ghana insurance market and is required by the NIC.
The sum insured is the maximum amount an insurer will pay out on any single claim or in total over the policy period. Setting the right sum insured is one of the most important decisions in buying insurance — too low, and you are underinsured; too high, and you are paying unnecessary premium.
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