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KATHMANDU: Industrialists in Koshi Province have asked the Nepal Insurance Authority (NIA), the regulatory body of the insurance sector, to take the initiative to solve problems related to insurance.
At a discussion and interaction programme related to insurance, jointly organised by the Chamber of Industries Morang (CIM) and the NIA in Biratnagar, on Wednesday, CIM President Rakesh Surana requested the NIA’s initiative to make premiums more consumer-friendly. He stated that consumers have been facing problems due to increasing premium fees for various insurances, while the industrial business sector is also encountering issues.
He noted that insurance companies categorise any types of risks such as floods, landslides, earthquakes, and storms into the same category, forcing insurance. He suggested that insurance companies should allow consumers to choose the services they need.
CIM President Surana said that since there is no provision for a loss of profit policy, and there is a significant loss, the policy should be arranged immediately. He pointed out that the marine policy taken under transit insurance and the policy taken for domestic transportation have almost the same rates and opined that they should be different. Similarly, raw materials and mill machinery should be classified differently based on the nature of the risk. Accordingly, he requested the NIA’s initiative to make arrangements for charging premiums and simple arrangements for the payment of all claims based on agriculture.
NIA Chairman Surya Prasad Silwal stated that the premium fees were higher in some cases as they were revised based on the nature of the goods. He asserted that some policies need to be integrated to ensure there is no gap in insurance coverage. In the case of domestic transit, the premium charge is higher for the consumer due to low volume, and also the property and breakdown policy have to be taken simultaneously, he added.
Silwal said that some headings had to be included in one basket as the conditions of global companies had to be followed while doing reinsurance in insurance companies. He also urged the insurance companies to expand their services. He assured that the NIA is resolving more than one hundred insurance-related cases annually through reconciliation and mediation and will continue to increase this number in the future.
On the occasion, NIA Executive Director Raju Raman Paudel clarified that insurance companies are revising the premium rate based on international practice. He opined that insurance companies should settle claims in a simple and easy environment so that the rights of the consumers are not violated. He held the opinion that insurance should be arranged in an easy manner, taking into account the rights and interests of established as well as newly set up industries.
In the discussion, industrialists urged NIA Chairman Silwal to regulate the services and conditions of insurance companies and take action in terms of claim settlement.
Representatives of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) Koshi Province, Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) Koshi Province, Birat Merchant Association, and Federation of Nepal Cottage and Small Industries (FNCSI), CIM Executive Committee members, former presidents, industrialists, NIA officials, and representatives of various insurance companies participated in the programme.
