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Ghana Offered Life Insurance Via Cell Phone

   VOA News  March 23, 2011

   Residents  of  Ghana  can  now  buy  life insurance using their mobile
   phone, in a service introduced by a South African company.
   Wireless  phone  operator MTN says the service, launched Wednesday, is
   the first of its kind in the world.
   MTN and its partner in the project, Hollard Insurance, say the service
   is  aimed  at low-income Ghanaians who do not have bank accounts.  It
   allows  mobile  phone  users to buy low-cost life insurance over their
   phones or by going to an MTN service center.
   Payment  of  premiums  can be made through MTN's mobile money service,
   which allows users to send and receive money through their phones.
   MTN  operates  in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East and plans
   to  roll  out  the  program  in  other African countries in the coming
   months.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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