Regional insurance meet kicks off

Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel has said that the devastating earthquakes of 2015 have underlined the significance of insurance sector. Speaking at an opening ceremony of the two-day 3rd South Asian Insurance Regulators Meet and International Insurance Conference 2016 that kicked off on Thursday, Paudel said that "the devastating earthquake, followed by many aftershocks, reminds us of the importance of insurance sector for risk minimization". "This is why this sector is of high importance, seeking urgent attention from all stakeholders," he added. He also informed that the government was planning to initiate health insurance programs gradually for all citizens. Stating that insurance service is not easily accessible to millions of people in South Asia, he said that it is the appropriate time for insurance companies to explore the avenues for extending both the coverage and quality of insurance. Also speaking at the opening ceremony, Anup Chatterjee, Principal Financial Sector Specialist of Asian Development Bank, said that the regulatory frameworks about insurance should be toward supporting innovation, institution and integration of insurance products in South Asia. According to the organizers, a dozen of plenary sessions on various issues related to the insurance sector will be held during the conference. Regulatory frameworks to increase insurance outreach, disaster and catastrophic risks management, enhancing inclusive insurance market, risks-based capital and solvency margin, reinsurance practice, infrastructure development through investment of insurance fund, and health insurance, among others, are the topics to be discussed in the plenary sessions. Experts, regulators, representatives of insurance companies, underwriters, reinsurers and academicians are participating in the conference, according to the organizers. "The conference aims to explore the scope of cooperation among regulators, practitioners, insurance companies and other stakeholders of South Asia to enhance the insurance coverage of people, particularly from the rural areas where there people have very low access to insurance service," Bhoj Raj Sharma, coordinator of the conference, said. Similarly, Vijaya Bahadur Shah, president of Nepal Insurers' Association, said that insurance companies were ready to work in close cooperation and collaboration with other stakeholders to enhance insurance outreach. Source: Republica