BIA calls meeting to address key challenges in insurance sector

Staff Correspondent: The Bangladesh Insurance Association (BIA) has called a meeting with chairmen and chief executive officers (CEOs) of all insurance companies to discuss the industry’s existing situation, policy bottleneck and emerging challenges. The meeting, scheduled for Wednesday (November 5), will be chaired by BIA President Sayeed Ahmed.

A notice signed by BIA Secretary Md Omar Faruque, issued on Sunday (November 2), urged all company heads to attend the meeting, which aims to outline a coordinated response to key regulatory and operational issues.

According to the industry sources, discussion will focus on the proposed amendment to the Insurance Act, the suspension of the Unified Messaging Platform (UMP), the problem of excessive commission in the non-life sector and delay in claim settlement in life insurance. The proposed legal reform is expected to be the most debated issue.

Introduced by the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) in August last year, the draft amendment seeks to expand IDRA’s power, restructure the company board and redefine key terms like ‘family.’ The BIA argues that such sweeping changes need extensive research and stakeholder input.