March 24: The Insurance Board Nepal has started the process to launch the national insurance policy for the first time in Nepal with the objective of regulating and developing the insurance sector of the country. 

The board is preparing to bring the national insurance policy in collaboration with the government. For this, the board has prepared a preliminary draft of the national insurance policy and sent it to the Ministry of Finance. Chairman of the board Surya Prasad Silwal said that the national insurance policy will be brought after necessary discussions between the ministry and the board. 

"There is no clear national policy on insurance at the moment. There should be policy on how the local level, province and center operate insurance services at a time when the country has moved to federalism and ways to regulate the overall insurance sector," he said, adding, "We have already drafted the national insurance policy and sent it to the Ministry of Finance for review." 

The Ministry of Finance may issue the policy after holding necessary discussions on the draft. The insurance board is planning to bring the national insurance policy focusing on four objectives. The first objective of the national insurance policy is to extend the reach of insurance to all sectors and classes. Another objective of the board is to insure life, property and liability by identifying potential risks. 

It is mentioned in the draft that the new insurance policy is being brought with the objective of developing the insurance sector in line with the international standards and building a prosperous society and economy through strong and expanded insurance services. 

The board has also proposed to formulate 9 different insurance policies through draft. Likewise, the board is preparing to bring policies to help maintain financial and economic stability with the help of the insurance sector, and make the sector accountable and transparent. The board also aims to set up an insurance information center to control fraud in the insurance sector. 

Raju Raman Poudel, executive director of the board said, "There is concerns that fraudulent activities are increasing in the insurance sector. So, we are also planning to set up an information center to control it."