Finance Minister AMA Muhith criticised the country’s insurance companies as having no professional morality.
He was addressing the inauguration of a three-day insurance fair yesterday at the capital’s Bangabandhu International Conference Center.
Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) has organised the event, first of its kind in Bangladesh.
Muhith said there was lax control over the growth of insurance sector in the country. However, the situation started changing positively after the enactment of insurance law in 2010, he claimed.
IDRA Chairman M Shefaq Ahmed presided over the session, also attended by State Minister of Finance and Planning M A Mannan and Finance Secretary Yunusur Rahman.
Shefaq Ahmed blamed management spending beyond limit for making the companies unable to return premiums to their clients after maturity of policies.
“Though there is a ceiling for management spending, the life insurance companies are not following that, which makes them unable to pay profit to the policy holders,” he said.
IDRA chairman said this was denting the confidence of people on the insurance firms. The insurance companies were issued warning against the breach of spending rule, he added emphasising compliance to restore discipline in the sector.
He said IDRA was planning to form a research and development cell, and urged the insurance companies to open such cells.
A number of 50 insurance companies are participating in the fair which remains open from 10am to 8pm every day and will wrap up tomorrow.
Cultural functions, raffle draw and cheque handover to insurance claimers feature the fair to attract visitors.
