July 30: Forty four percent of Nepal's total population is covered by insurance, according to the latest data. Nepal Insurance Authority confirmed that more than 44 percent of citizens have access to insurance as of mid-June of the current fiscal year. The scope of insurance including foreign employment term life insurance has extended to 44.20 percent of citizens, reveals the NIA data. Similarly, 38.99 percent of the population is covered by insurance other than foreign employment term life insurance. 

As per the authority, the coverage of term life insurance in the same period of the previous year was 39.95 percent. Apart from foreign employment term life insurance, the scope of insurance was extended to 37.04 percent of the population during last FY. According to the National Census 2078, the population of Nepal is 29,164,578. With the scope of insurance reaching 44.20 percent, there are 12,890,743 citizens covered by insurance.

In the year 2075/76, only 23 percent of Nepal's population had access to insurance. There has been a significant improvement in access to insurance over a period of five years. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nepal Life Insurance Limited, Pravina Raman Parajuli says that insurance companies and authorities had played a crucial role in improving the access to insurance in a period of five years.

"In the expansion of the coverage of insurance, the insurance companies as well as the regulatory body played an equally important role. Similarly, various insurance awareness programs up to the grassroots level have had an important role in expanding the scope of the state's policy," said Parajuli.

Parajuli says that most of the citizens took insurance coverage to reduce the risk after the earthquakes of 2015. At that time, the earthquake had 'triggered' citizens to opt for insurance coverage. 

Nepal Insurance Authority spokesperson Raju Raman Paudel says that the main role of the authority, insurance companies and insurance agents is to expand the scope of insurance. He said, "In five years, the scope of insurance has increased a lot. Insurance awareness is the main reason for expansion in the scope of insurance." Paudel says that in these five years, insurance companies have also expanded their branches and sub-branches and reached villages.

"Insurance agents also went to villages and did their work, so the access to insurance increased from 23 percent to over 44 percent in five years," added  Poudel.