The country’s insurance sector will have to be developed with innovative products in order to cope with the growing economic development, speakers said on Sunday.
The observation came at a seminar titled “Challenges and Opportunities of Insurance Sector in Bangladesh” organised by Bangla Daily Banijjo Protidin at Economic Reporters’ Forum (ERF) in Dhaka this noon.
“Bangladesh will emerge as the 25th largest economy in the world by 2035. So, the insurance companies will have to come up with proper policies to cope with the development,” said Abdullah Al Mahmud, associate professor of Banking and Insurance Department of Dhaka University.
He said there are 78 insurers, but the insurance penetration rate is around 0.5 percent of the GDP, which is the lowest in the world context.
The penetration rate is 4 percent of GDP in India, 1.25 percent in Sri Lanka and 2.25 percent in Vietnam, he informed pointing at the image-crisis issue within the local insurance industry.
Chairman of Marketing Department of DU Professor Mizanur Rahman advised insurers to think ‘out of box’ and settle compensations of clients to create good image in the sector.
Managing Director and CEO of Pragati Life Insurance Limited, Md Jalalul Azim said they are suffering from severe image crisis due to lacking of talented officials and unethical practices in the sector.
Chairman of the Insurance Development & Regulatory Authority (IDRA) Dr M Mosharraf Hossain said they have taken some steps to ensure professionalism in the insurance sector to help overcoming the prevailing image crisis.
“We want to do something here in a transparent way. Once, a day will come when people will consider the insurance sector as a good financial one in the country,” he said.
President of Bangladesh Merchant Bankers Association Md Sayadur Rahman, Managing Director and CEO of National Life Insurance Company Limited Md Kazim Uddin, Bangladesh Insurance Association President Sheikh Kabir Hossain and Chief Faculty Member of Bangladesh Insurance Academy S M Ibarim Hossain were also present spoke at the programme.
Editor of Banijjo Protidin AKM Rashed Shahriar chaired the session.
