New insurance control authority on the cards
Monday, 1 December 2008
S M Jahangir
Establishment of an independent authority is on the cards, paving the way for bringing the country's insurance sector under a uniform regulatory framework, sources said.
"The government has started the process of constituting an Insurance Control Authority (ICA) in line with the Ordinance, framed recently by the government," a senior official said.
Simultaneously, a process of issuing a separate gazette notification is also on, which is a prerequisite for making the new law named 'Insurance Control Authority Ordinance 2008' effective, the official mentioned.
"A gazette notification is expected to be published within a week, stipulating a date for the enforcement of the new Ordinance," said the official.
According to the new Ordinance, the independent insurance authority will be set up, comprising of a chairman and four members.
The government is now brainstorming on the selection of persons to be appointed as the chairman and members of the new ICA, official sources said.
The establishment of the ICA aims to oversee the country's insurance business and protect the interests of the policyholders for the sake of systematic development of the local insurance sector, they added.
"One of the main objectives of setting up of the independent authority is to bring all the insurance companies -- both the private and state-run ones -under a uniform regulatory framework," said a senior official.
Previously, the Chief Controller of Insurance (CCI) regulated the private insurance companies while the state-owned Sadharan Bima Corporations (JBC) and Jiban Bima Corporation (JBC) were regulated under the Insurance Corporation Act 1973, sources said.
The ICA, according to sources, is to abolish the Chief Controller of Insurance (CCI), sources said.
Apart from the Insurance Control Authority Ordinance 2008, a separate law named 'The Insurance Ordinance 2008' simultaneously came into being through a separate official gazette notification, officials said.
The main objective of framing the new law is to make the rules and regulations more time bound and effective for the sake of sound growth of local insurance business, they said.
But, officials and the sector insiders said framing of new rules and regulations will not be possible without the establishment of the ICA as the new ordinance has empowered it to carry out such tasks.
Citing the new law, an official said, "The new Insurance Control Authority will have the responsibility to make necessary rules and provisions for effectively regulating the country's insurance business."
Establishment of an independent authority is on the cards, paving the way for bringing the country's insurance sector under a uniform regulatory framework, sources said.
"The government has started the process of constituting an Insurance Control Authority (ICA) in line with the Ordinance, framed recently by the government," a senior official said.
Simultaneously, a process of issuing a separate gazette notification is also on, which is a prerequisite for making the new law named 'Insurance Control Authority Ordinance 2008' effective, the official mentioned.
"A gazette notification is expected to be published within a week, stipulating a date for the enforcement of the new Ordinance," said the official.
According to the new Ordinance, the independent insurance authority will be set up, comprising of a chairman and four members.
The government is now brainstorming on the selection of persons to be appointed as the chairman and members of the new ICA, official sources said.
The establishment of the ICA aims to oversee the country's insurance business and protect the interests of the policyholders for the sake of systematic development of the local insurance sector, they added.
"One of the main objectives of setting up of the independent authority is to bring all the insurance companies -- both the private and state-run ones -under a uniform regulatory framework," said a senior official.
Previously, the Chief Controller of Insurance (CCI) regulated the private insurance companies while the state-owned Sadharan Bima Corporations (JBC) and Jiban Bima Corporation (JBC) were regulated under the Insurance Corporation Act 1973, sources said.
The ICA, according to sources, is to abolish the Chief Controller of Insurance (CCI), sources said.
Apart from the Insurance Control Authority Ordinance 2008, a separate law named 'The Insurance Ordinance 2008' simultaneously came into being through a separate official gazette notification, officials said.
The main objective of framing the new law is to make the rules and regulations more time bound and effective for the sake of sound growth of local insurance business, they said.
But, officials and the sector insiders said framing of new rules and regulations will not be possible without the establishment of the ICA as the new ordinance has empowered it to carry out such tasks.
Citing the new law, an official said, "The new Insurance Control Authority will have the responsibility to make necessary rules and provisions for effectively regulating the country's insurance business."