Beema Samiti (Insurance Board), the insurance regulatory authority of Nepal, recently instituted a taskforce intended to define microinsurance products and identify channels for delivering these products to rural and low income-households [1]. The taskforce was formed in response to the meager supply of microinsurance products on market, a condition apparently resulting from local insurance companies deeming the low-income market unprofitable.
Shekhar Kumar Aryal, spokesperson of Insurance Bank, touted the taskforce’s approach by commenting that “instead of dictating the implementation procedures, we [Insurance Board] have allowed the insurers themselves to define microinsurance and identify the products they could safely execute to start with.” The taskforce has also been asked to recommend alternatives for delivery channels and claim settlement procedures to help ensure the fulfillment of insurance contracts.
By Jacqueline Foelster, Research Associate
About Beema Samiti (Insurance Board): The Insurance Board was established under the Insurance Act of 1992 and operates as an agency of the Nepalese Ministry of Finance. The Insurance Board’s mission is to “help develop the Nepalese economy and uplift the living standard of the Nepalese people through fair, equitable and sustainable development of the whole insurance sector”. It issues, renews and dismisses the licenses of insurance companies, insurance surveyors and insurance agents.
Sources and resources:
[1] Republica, “Panel to define micro-insurance products”, http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=28400
MicroCapital.org Article, June 24, 2010, “Asian Development Bank Pledges $72m in Assistance to Nepal to Expand Microfinance to Rural Areas”, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-asian-development-bank-pledges-72m-in-assistance-to-nepal-to-expand-microfinance-to-rural-areas/
MicroCapital Microfinance Universe Profile: Beema Samiti (Insurance Board), https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Beema+Samiti+%28Insurance+Board%29
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