March 28: There has been a slight improvement in the business of non-life insurance companies as of mid-March of the current financial year.

According to the Nepal Insurance Authority, non-life insurance companies have collected Rs 26.16 billion in insurance fees as of mid-March of the current fiscal year. In the same period last year, the insurance companies had collected insurance fees of Rs 25.87 billion. The insurance premium of non-life insurance companies increased by 1.12 percent in the first eight months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last FY.

As of mid-March, Shikhar Insurance has collected the maximum insurance premium among the non-life insurance companies. Shikhar Insurance has collected Rs 3.71 billion in insurance fee during this period. Meanwhile, National Insurance recorded the lowest business of Rs 761.3 million.

In a one-month period from mid-February to mid-March, non-life insurance companies collected more insurance premium compared to the previous month. According to the Nepal Insurance Authority, 14 non-life insurance companies collected Rs 3.64 billion in insurance fees from the sale of 245,000 insurance policies mid-February to mid-March.

The insurance premium of the insurance companies increased by 16.90 percent in the review month compared to the previous month when they collected Rs 3.12 billion in insurance fees between mid-January to mid-February.

The business of insurance companies had been declining due to the economic slowdown as it adversely affected the credit disbursement of banks and financial institutions as well as commercial activities. Insurers say that with the increase in liquidity in the banking system and the flexible monetary policy of the Nepal Rashtra Bank, the business of insurance companies has started to improve.