Policy think tank IMANI Africa has expressed legal and procurement concerns regarding changes to insurance arrangements at the Ghana National Gas Company, cautioning that disruption of an established structured insurance programme could have ripple effects across international reinsurance markets.
The issues are outlined in the second instalment of IMANI’s Insurance Question series, which identifies the Ghana Gas case as being “at the centre of this dispute.”
According to submissions made by GLICO General Insurance Ltd to the Presidency, the company had secured a structured insurance programme for Ghana Gas with participation from A-rated international reinsurers, including the London market. GLICO had arranged a two-year locked-in reinsurance structure with pricing benefits negotiated internationally.
GLICO reports that its role as lead insurer was terminated effective December 31, 2025, with another insurer assuming responsibility from January 1, 2026.
IMANI’s review raises three key questions about the transition: whether it was subjected to a competitive procurement process, whether existing contractual obligations were lawfully reviewed and terminated, and whether the implications for international reinsurance commitments were considered before the change.
“Once reinsurance capacity is allocated, it is not easily reversed,” the analysis states. “It is priced, committed, and supported by balance sheets outside Ghana.”
The think tank warns that unilateral disruption of such a structure could have systemic consequences — undermining Ghana’s credibility in international insurance markets, affecting future risk pricing, limiting reinsurance capacity, and increasing the long-term cost of insuring strategic national assets.
“This is not theoretical risk,” the analysis stresses. “It is how global insurance systems operate.”
IMANI also highlights a regulatory dimension. GLICO’s petition raises concerns about third-party involvement in reinsurance negotiations by entities with regulatory or quasi-regulatory influence while maintaining competing commercial interests in the same market.
If such engagements occurred without the authority of the insurer of record, IMANI argues they may conflict with provisions of the Insurance Act, 2021 (Act 1061), particularly regarding authorised placement structures, regulatory oversight, and market conduct standards.
“At that point, the issue is no longer commercial. It becomes regulatory,” the analysis notes. “And when regulatory boundaries begin to blur, confidence begins to weaken.”
IMANI describes Ghana Gas as a strategic energy asset with complex operational risks — including gas processing infrastructure, pipeline networks, industrial facilities, and third-party liability exposures — requiring risk engineering, structured underwriting, and multi-year placement commitments rather than administrative reassignment.
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