Liberia: Saar Insurance Debunks Media Report of Defrauding Clients

By Obediah Johnson

Saar Insurance Company has refuted claims made in a recent publication by the New Democratic newspaper accusing the company of defrauding clients. The company labeled the information as malicious and misleading.

In its publication under the captioned: Saar Insurance Defrauds Clients, the paper accused the company of a “defrauding” and reneging on making 25% payment to some of its clients under the Endowment Insurance Policy signed with the company.

But in a press statement issued in Monrovia on Wednesday, April 3, Saar Insurance asserted that it has consistently made timely premium and claim payments to thousands of clients nationwide, with a weekly disbursement exceeding US$10,000.

The company, which has been operating in Liberia since 2011, disclosed that its Endowment Insurance Policy, which was signed by employees and workers at some government ministries and agencies, runs from 10 to 15 years.

The Endowment Insurance Policy offered by Saar Insurance involves a 10 to 15-year savings plan where clients receive 25% of their savings after five years, with full death benefits paid if the policyholder passes away during the active policy period. Premiums are deducted from monthly salaries ranging between L$1200 to L$2000.

The Insurance company disclosed that since 2021, it commenced the maturity payment of 25% to its clients or policyholders under the Endowment Insurance Policy scheme.

It discloses that all clients from the Ministries of Health, Education, Justice, the Judiciary, as well as the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS) and the Monrovia Consolidated School System (MCSS), who have regularly contributed for five years and submitted claims, have been paid.

While the majority of clients have received their 25% maturity payment, delays were noted for some due to issues with the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) government, through the Civil Service Agency (CSA), not remitting deducted salaries to the company from July 2019 to March 2020.

The CSA serves as a middleman between the insurer and the insured. The compulsory harmonization scheme introduced by the George Weah administration initially prompted a halt in the payment of the 25% to some clients who were no longer paying the monthly premiums through the Civil Service Agency.

As a result of the situation, a few clients of Saar Insurance Company working at the Ministries of Health, Education, Justice, and MCSS did not receive the payment of their 25% Endowment Insurance due to lapses in their payments for between three to nine months, respectively.

The company asserts that despite efforts to notify clients about the situation through various channels, some clients experienced delays in receiving payments due to lapses in payments. Saar Insurance stresses that the extension of payments does not indicate a failure to meet obligations, but is a response to challenges beyond their control.

Saar Insurance says though it notified the clients or policyholders about the situation through radio talk shows and meetings, the failure of the past government to deduct the amounts agreed upon in the policies of the insurers from their salaries every month and has it remitted into the account of the company, prompted the extension of the 25% Endowment Insurance payment to a few people for the period which they have not been paying.

It describes the publication as a smear campaign intended to tarnish its outstanding reputation and image in the insurance sector of Liberia.

Saar Insurance emphasizes that the newspaper wrongly quoted its Life Underwriter Alexander G. Diggs, who did not speak on the record.

“The newspaper failed to follow the ethics of journalism, which calls for the publication of accurate, balanced, and credible reports or stories void of prejudice or bias,” the statement said. 

The company has called for a retraction of the inaccurate story published by the New Democratic newspaper within 48 hours, or they may pursue legal action.