IDRA amends CEO appointment rules to improve transparency, accountability in insurance

Staff Correspondent: Bangladesh’s insurance regulator, the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA), has revised the Insurance Companies’ Chief Executive Officer Appointment and Removal Regulations, 2012 in an effort to ease a mounting leadership shortage and strengthen governance standards in the sector. The amended regulations were issued through a gazette notification on December 22, 2025, after IDRA observed that a large number of insurance companies have kept the CEO position vacant for extended periods, weakening operational continuity and oversight.

According to the IDRA, the revision responds to market realities where qualified and experienced senior professionals already exist in the sector, especially at the level of Additional Managing Director and Deputy Managing Director. However, the previous framework restricted the available candidate pool, contributing to prolonged vacancies. By relaxing qualification and experience requirements, the amended rules broaden eligibility to include senior officials from the General Insurance Corporation and the Life Insurance Corporation, senior executives from domestic insurance firms and individuals holding upper management roles in globally reputed multinational insurance companies.

The regulator has also opened a clearer path for professionals with internationally recognised credentials. Candidates holding specialised professional qualification like Actuary, CPA, CFA, and CLU, as well as fellows or associates of recognised bodies including ICAB, ACCA and ICMAB, will now face less rigid barriers when applying for CEO position. IDRA expects this will encourage technically skilled professionals to step into leadership roles and improve the quality of management across insurers.

In a significant procedural change, the timeframe for submitting CEO appointment or renewal application and for IDRA to communicate its decision has been extended from 15 days to 60 days, which the authorities concerned believes will allow more thorough review and strengthen transparency. At the same time, the amendments introduce tougher integrity safeguard, averting individuals removed for abuse of power, corruption, money laundering, or financial irregularities- along with those whose application has been rejected- from securing CEO roles elsewhere. IDRA said the reform will expand the leadership channel, diminish vacancy risk, reinforce answerability and ultimately strengthen public confidence in the insurance industry.