‘Now is the opportune time to invest in Guyana’ – Minister Singh tells investors

─ at launch of first female-owned insurance company

Senior Minister within the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh said now is the opportune time to invest in Guyana, as the country is undergoing its most significant transformation in history.

The minister was speaking at the launch of the first female-owned insurance company in Guyana, RNS Insurance Brokers and Consultants, on Wednesday.

While delivering the keynote address Dr. Singh commended Founder and General Manager of the company, Ramona Singh for launching the business.

“RNS insurance brokers is coming at a time when in every sense of the word business opportunities are growing, and new business opportunities are emerging at a previously unprecedented pace.

“We in government remain strong believers in the value of insurance products, and in the strength of the insurance sector. We commend new entrants into the market, because we believe competition is always a good thing,” he said.

Minister Singh noted that government has been consistently working to strengthen insurance supervision, and have taken other measures to achieve a more consolidated approach to supervising the financial sector.

More recently the government introduced a minimum threshold for insurance businesses in the local content legislation.

Taxpayers will also benefit from a deduction from their chargeable income for premiums paid for life and medical insurance with a maximum of 10 percent of their income or $30,000 per month.

Dr. Singh anticipates that the demand for insurance products will drastically increase in the months ahead.

Further, he noted the importance of insurance as an essential risk management tool that can be used at the corporate, household and individual levels. Citing an example, the minister noted that, “All too often in my line of work I encounter really tragic stories of families who face a catastrophe or even companies who face a catastrophe and have made no provision whatsoever by way of insurance to insulate themselves from this catastrophe.”

Meanwhile, Minister of Human Services and Social Security. Dr. Vindhya Persaud also commended the entrepreneur and noted that there is space in the various sectors, for competent and intelligent women.

“I would like to see more women jumping into these non-traditional areas of enterprise in our country…but also, I would like to see them engaged in so many other different areas that are now wide open for their participation, for their leadership and stewardship and definitely for them to engage, not only nationally, but internationally,” Dr. Persaud said.

The insurance brokerage and consultancy firm will help clients purchase policies based on their personal or business needs.

Singh has been in the insurance business for the past 22 years and is licenced by the Bank of Guyana. She expressed her delight in being the first woman in a male- dominated industry, to launch her firm.

“One of our key focus is to launch an interactive website which allows our customers to make queries, feedback and payments among other key features. Through this medium, we will also provide 24-hour insurance advisory services to our customers and the general public,” Singh said.