Page 19 - Insurance Times March 2024

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Bangladesh Regulator Insurance claim settlement been common throughout the country
with Nepal Police data suggesting over
seeks support from govt up 4% in 2023: IDRA 2,500 people dying in them annually.
agencies to increase The claim settlement rate of life and Despite this, the Ministry of Finance
non-life insurance companies in the has shown reluctance to introduce the
insurance coverage
country increased by 4 percent year- proposed Road Safety Bill to reduce
The Insurance Development and on-year in 2023, said Mohammad traffic accidents, fatalities, and serious
Regulatory Authority (IDRA) is Jainul Bari, chairman of the Insurance injuries, and enhance road safety.
seeking cooperation from Development and Regulatory
ministries and public entities to Authority (IDRA), Bangladesh. Instead, the Finance Ministry has asked
expand insurance coverage. the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure
Claim settlement rates have increased and Transport to include the proposed
In a letter sent to the Financial as the regulator has passed a strict
Institutions Division on 15 February directive on insurance companies to bill in the Public Roads Act. Along with
2024, the insurance regulator focus on claims settlement to improve that, the government's initiative to
requested an inter-ministerial pass dedicated laws on road safety and
the image of the insurance sector, he set up a mechanism, including the
meeting in this regard, reported
said. empowered National Road Safety
the newspaper The Daily Star.
Currently, insurance penetration Bari made this comment at a press Council (NRSC), to decrease accidents,
stands at less than 1% in the conference organised by the IDRA at has come to a halt.
country which has a population of its Motijheel office in Dhaka to inform Keshav Kumar Sharma, secretary of the
around 170m. of celebrations marking National Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and
Insurance Day which is scheduled to be Transport, says they asked for a
The IDRA requested government
celebrated on March 1. dedicated road safety law that
subsidies to help those with low
income, such as rickshaw pullers, At present there are 35 life insurance comprehensively addresses
to pay premiums. Its letter and 46 non-life insurance companies institutional arrangements was the
highlighted the need for insurance active in the country. Of them, 49 are need of the hour. This includes ensuring
to cope with rising healthcare listed with the stock market. safety in road construction, promoting
costs and ensure compensation public awareness, providing training
for vehicle drivers involved in road The unattended issue of and communication facilities,
crashes and for farmers and public implementing rescue mechanisms, and
infrastructure that suffered losses road safety in Nepal arranging rehabilitation for families
from natural disasters. The The month of January saw major road affected by road accidents. However,
regulator also believes insurance accidents in different parts of the the Ministry of Finance believes a
must be made mandatory for country, including Lamhi in Dang, separate law is unnecessary due to
people working in high-risk Dhorpatan in Baglung, and Chandragiri concerns about potential increased
environments. in Kathmandu. Road accidents have financial burden.

18 March 2024 The Insurance Times