SIC to pay GCB Bank claims after Saturday’s fire

SIC, the insurers of the GCB Bank Liberty House Branch at Katamanto in Accra have commenced processes to assess damage and pay claims as may be necessary to the company following a fire outbreak at the facility on Saturday.

Speaking to Citi Business News, Head of Corporate and Special Risk at SIC, Emmauel Simpiney-Mensah said his outfit is in talks with management of GCB Bank to ascertain the level of damage.

He stated that, “SIC is the biggest insurance company in this country, and we have been giving protection to Ghana Commercial Bank for long. We have started responding. We don’t wait for 24 hours. We were here yesterday, and we are here today too so this is part of the response process. We are meeting management very soon, and then we will move on. You see what is happening is that they can only tell us what has got damaged. So we cannot estimate until they have brought us their estimation but be rest assured that, when it comes SIC will be there to clear it off for them to continue with where they were before the loss”.

The first floor of the bank building caught fire over the weekend but the timely intervention of personnel of the Ghana National Fires Service prevented a spread to other floors.

The bank assured its customers that the fire did not affect their data.

Meanwhile, the bank will not be opened for business from today, Monday, November 30, 2020, following the fire outbreak.

A statement signed by the Head of Corporate Affairs on behalf of the Managing Director of the Bank said the closure is to allow for a thorough assessment of the extent of damage caused by the fire.

Customers of the bank have been advised to visit Kantamanto, Okaishie, Makola, Republic House, High Street, Boundary Road, Ministries and any GCB Bank Branch of their choice or make use of alternate channels including internet banking, GCB Mobile banking, ATMs and G-Money Mobile Wallet.

Giving details on the incident, the bank said no casualties were recorded, adding that the fire which was detected in the early hours of the day was “successfully extinguished by personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) with the support of the Ghana Police Service and GCB Bank internal security and staff.”

According to the fire service, the affected floor where the fire incident occurred contained stationery.