Life insurance in Ghana — policy types, rights

Short answerChecked 31 October 2026

Life insurance in Ghana is sold by the 14 life insurers on the National Insurance Commission's register (31 October 2026). The NIC groups policies in two families: pure risk policies — term life, funeral policies ("a common form of term insurance in Ghana") and credit life — which pay only if the insured event happens; and investment-linked policies — whole life, endowment, unit-linked and annuities — which add savings. Life insurers drew 505 complaints to the NIC in 2024, mostly about delays in paying surrender and maturity values, funeral claims and unlawful deductions (NIC Annual Report 2024).

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Answers come from the law, the regulator and the insurers' own documents, with the source under each answer. General information, not advice.

What should I check before I buy cover?What is an excess?How do I prepare a claim?

On this page · 5 sections

The types of life policy
The 14 licensed life insurers
What goes wrong, and how to avoid it
FAQ
Sources

The types of life policy

Family	Policy	What the NIC says
Pure risk (death benefit only, lower premiums)	Term life	Coverage for a set period, e.g. 10 to 30 years
	Funeral policy	A common form of term insurance in Ghana
	Credit life	Covers outstanding loans upon death
Investment-linked (protection plus savings)	Whole life	Lifetime coverage with a cash value
	Endowment	Pays a lump sum on death or after a specified period
	Unit-linked (ULIP)	Investment returns plus life cover
	Annuities and pension plans	A regular income during retirement

From the NIC's insurance products page. Funeral cover has its own page: funeral cover in Ghana.

The 14 licensed life insurers

Emple Life Insurance Ghana, Enterprise Life Assurance, GLICO Life Insurance, Hollard Life Assurance Ghana, Impact Life Insurance, miLife Insurance, Old Mutual Life Assurance Company (Ghana), Pinnacle Life Insurance, Prudential Life Insurance Ghana, Quality Life Assurance, Sanlam Allianz Life Insurance Ghana, SIC Life, StarLife Assurance and Vanguard Life Assurance (NIC register, retrieved 31 October 2026; full names on insurance companies in Ghana).

In 2024 life insurers paid GH¢1.05 billion in policyholder benefits; StarLife (GH¢379.23 million), SIC Life (GH¢226.31 million) and MiLife (GH¢174.03 million) made over 75% of those payments (NIC Annual Report 2024). These are amounts paid, not a quality ranking.

What goes wrong, and how to avoid it

The reasons the NIC printed for 2024 complaints against life insurers repeat the same few problems: delays in paying surrender and maturity values, delays in paying funeral claims, unlawful deductions, deductions that continue after a policy matures or is surrendered, and delays in cancelling a policy (NIC Annual Report 2024, Table 13; per insurer on complaints by insurer).

Keep the policy document, every premium receipt and every endorsement (NIC consumer education).
If you stop a policy, ask for the cancellation in writing and check that the deductions (salary or mobile money) actually stop.
Disclose your health and past claims fully: non-disclosure can void a policy (same page).
If a payment is late, write to the insurer, then complain to the NIC (how to complain).

Already insured?

Check my motor certificate Understand my policy Prepare a claim

Next step

1. Find the cover that fits

Frequently asked questions

How many life insurance companies are in Ghana?

14 life insurers on the NIC's register retrieved on 31 October 2026.

What is the difference between term and endowment insurance?

Term (and funeral) policies pay only if the insured dies during the term. An endowment pays a lump sum on death or at the end of a specified period, so it also saves (NIC).

My life insurer keeps deducting after I stopped the policy. What do I do?

Write to the insurer asking it to stop and refund, keep proof, then complain to the NIC through its Complaints Hub. "Continuous deduction after surrender and maturity" is one of the complaint reasons the NIC records.