Keshav Dwadi

Former Manager, Nepal Rastra Bank

Currently General Manager, Nepal Insurance Company

 How was your journey from a bank to an insurance company?

Yes, I feel great. I worked as the Manager at Nepal Rastrya Bank for 27 years. But I always wanted to face the open competition. Recently, there was the search of a manager at this, Nepal Insurance Company, and I won it openly. Thus, I started to serve this firm from 24th of Ashad, and till date, I'm satisfied with our achievements.

 What challenges do you feel, are there behind being the GM of this Insurance Company?

Talking, personally, the Insurance sector is far vast than the banking field. I felt that I was all in all in the banking field, but one should be cleared that no one is all in all at any discipline and especially at Insurance world. Time is changing and the demands are dynamic. When NIC was established in 2004 BS, there was monopoly, no other insurance firms were into forms. But now, there are so many insurance companies that to get established among those is critical. So, looking to the competitive market policy, challenges lie behind the demands of public.

 What role should any Insurance company be accomplished with?

You asked me a good question. One thing that we all should understand is that Insurance should insure the people, their property and in fact their lives too. Their sole responsibility being insurance is, it should be able to guarantee the people for their property and life. Similarly, the irony is that, though insurance companies today are established much, their service is confined within city areas and mainly the high class people. So, every insurance company should be able to accumulate the poor and village areas. Infact, I believe that to respect the minority is to understand the major problem of the country.

Why do you plead the people to get connected with especially your company?

I would like to request people that getting engaged with private companies are not so trusty than with semi government companies. Nepal Insurance Company has its 51% share from government side and 49% from the private sector. Thus, our consumers can enjoy a lot with our companies than others. Similarly, our company holds the 3rd position in overall ranking among the running insurance companies of Nepal. Moreover, we've been able to win heart of people may be because this company is the oldest insurance company of Nepal. People need to understand that the sole aim of our company is to serve people. Also, I would like to inform the people that till the date NIC hold insurance facilities to motors and other short-term accidents, but now it has plan to expand its service towards hydropower and aviation too.

Where is NIC, in the world of Nepal's insurance faculty?

There are more than 30 life- insurance companies in Nepal among which 19 of them are non-live insurance. In the non-live insurance ranking of Nepal, as I mentioned earlier, we have the 3rd position. Similarly, in the overall insurance network, Nepal Insurance covers around 25% of the share. There seems to be great challenge in this field nowadays. The major fact is that, the insurance companies lack the awareness in among people, and village areas. Thus, a proper way-out to this, is the sole aim of NIC.

'There is the need of Insurance companies like yours in the periphery of Nepalese society', why?

Yes, the role of insurance companies is just significant, basically, in the case of countries like Nepal. Insurance companies insure the public regarding their property and life. People can get relief on their loss of property through any incident as it pays the victims to some extent. It prevents them from bearing total loss. To, the next, there are numerous finance companies in Nepal. For this, insurance companies play a guardian's role as a central unit of all finance companies; the ultimate goal of any insurance company is to develop the nation in general by serving the people. Thus, insurance company gets birth with a vital role towards the society in particular and towards the whole nation in general.

Hence, government should be active and positive in decentralizing the knowledge and deeds of insurance companies to every parts of the nation. Insurance companies suffer from city-centrism, and so, now such company needs to be originated from village area covering the needs of marginalized group of people.                



Ashok Poudel

Sujan Dhungana