January 24: The Insurance Board, the regulatory body of insurance companies, is planning to assign the responsibility to insurance companies to conduct insurance literacy programmes in districts following a lack of interest among the companies to this end. The board had earlier fixed certain districts for non-life insurance companies to launch agriculture insurance. 

The board will issue directives at the earliest to non-life insurance companies in this regard.  Non-life insurance companies will be instructed to conduct insurance literacy programme in the same districts where they are conducting agricultural insurance programmes while the board is working to fix the districts for life insurance companies. 

According to the board, life insurance companies are required to conduct literacy programmes related to life insurance while non-life insurance companies have to conduct literacy programmes related to non-life insurance.

Rajuraman Poudel, CEO of the Insurance Board, said that the insurance companies are being assigned districts and directives will be issued in the next few days.

"We are introducing such a provision to make insurance literacy effective. Non-life insurance companies will conduct programmes in the same district where they have conducted agricultural insurance programmes,” he said, adding, “The new provision will be enforced immediately for non-life insurance companies."

The expenses incurred during these programmes  can be kept under the heading of  corporate social responsibility. The board expects these programmes will increase access to insurance.

Currently, the board itself has been conducting insurance literacy and interaction programmes at the local levels. The board believes it would be more effective if insurance companies start conducting literacy programmes at district level themselves, Poudel said.