KATHMANDU, August 15: At a time when Nepali insurance companies are largely focused on expanding their business in Bagmati Province, the finance minister has reiterated the government’s priority to increase insurance accessibility in rural areas.
According to the annual report of the Insurance Board (IB), out of the total businesses of both the life and non-life insurers, 48.44 percent were carried out in Bagmati Province, in one month during mid-June and mid-July this year. Out of the total premium collection of Rs 22.96 billion, the insured from Bagmati Province contributed Rs 11.12 billion.
Nepal's 25 pc population has access to insurance
Speaking at the meeting of the House of Representatives on Sunday, Finance Minister Janardan Sharma claimed that the newly endorsed Insurance Bill 2022 will help promote the rural people’s access to insurance. The federal parliament passed the new Insurance Bill on Sunday.
The new law has envisioned forming an autonomous Insurance Authority. Sharma said the new bill has been introduced to end distortions and discrepancies in the insurance sector. “Abiding by the law, the government will be providing a grant to the insurance fund, which will be dedicated to provide insurance coverage to poor people,” he said.
According to government records, insurance services are now accessible to 42 percent of the total population. Including life and non-life both, the insurers sold more than 13 million insurance policies in the last fiscal year, which was 52.09 percent more than the figure of 2020/21.
