Sonali Life pays Tk 405 crore in insurance claims, declares 15% dividend

Staff Correspondent: Sonali Life Insurance PLC paid Tk 405.15 crore in insurance claims in 2025 and has declared a 15% dividend for shareholders for the year.

The Bangladeshi life insurer said it settled 55,300 claims during the year, paying a total of Tk 405.15 crore to policyholders and their families.

The payments included money due when insurance policies matured, as well as other benefits payable under the terms of policies.

The company's board approved the 15% dividend at a recent meeting at its head office in Malibagh Chowdhurypara, Dhaka.

Claims payments rise

Sonali Life said the amount it paid in claims had increased over the past three years.

The company paid more than Tk 124 crore in claims in 2023. That rose to Tk 380 crore in 2024 and Tk 405.15 crore in 2025.

It said it had paid a further Tk 259 crore in claims by July this year.

Delays in settling claims have been a concern for customers in Bangladesh's insurance sector. Policyholders can face financial difficulties if they do not receive money when it becomes due.

Sonali Life said it had maintained a 100% claim settlement rate since it began operations. It also said it currently had no payable claims waiting to be settled.

The company said it was using technology to check customer information and reduce paperwork, which could help speed up claim payments.

Focus on financial strength

Sonali Life said it was among the leading fourth-generation insurers in Bangladesh in claim settlement, premium collection, life funds and investments.

A premium is the money a customer pays to keep an insurance policy active.

A life fund is money held by a life insurance company to meet future obligations, including payments to policyholders.

Sonali Life director Sheikh Mohammad Daniel said customer trust was important for an insurance company.

He said the insurer was trying to maintain that trust through faster claim payments, good governance and better customer service.

The company said it had paid and approved a total cash dividend of 85% between 2020 and 2025, including the 15% announced for 2025.

AI and digital services

Sonali Life also plans to increase its use of technology.

It said it was planning to use artificial intelligence, or AI, and optical character recognition, known as OCR, to make insurance applications and risk checks faster.

OCR technology can turn information on paper documents into digital data, making it easier to process and check customer information.

The company said these technologies could reduce paperwork and make its services faster.

256 branches across Bangladesh

Sonali Life currently operates 256 branch offices across the country.

Its acting chief executive, Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, said the company wanted to contribute to people's financial security and bring positive changes to Bangladesh's insurance sector.

"Sonali Life Insurance is not just an insurance company; it is a reliable commitment to people's financial security and future protection," he said.

Mohammad Rafiqul Islam said the company had a separate support team and an internal checking system to help process insurance claims and documents more quickly.

Bancassurance expansion

The insurer also plans to expand its services through bancassurance.

Bancassurance allows insurance companies to sell policies through banks, giving customers another way to buy insurance.

Sonali Life said it also invests part of the premiums collected from customers. Income from those investments can help strengthen the company's finances and support future claim payments.

Customer confidence remains an important issue for Bangladesh's insurance industry, particularly over whether claims are paid on time.

Sonali Life said faster claim payments, greater use of technology and stronger financial capacity would remain key parts of its efforts to maintain customer trust.