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Cabinet okays draft insurance laws

Star Business Report
The government approved new insurance draft laws yesterday to replace the 71-year-oldones.
Iwo acts -- Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) Act 2009 and Insurance Act 2009 -have been approved at the Cabinet meeting.
Prime Minister's Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad briefed reporters after the meeting at the Cabinet Division, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
I he laws, drafted on the basis of the ordinances promulgated during the caretaker rule, will now be sent to the law ministry for vetting before sending those to parliament.
The insurance industry is happy with the latest development. They said they would finally see the fulfillment of their long-time demand.
With the enforcement of the IRA Act 2009, the Department of Insurance
will no longer exist and the sector will get rid of the Insurance Act, 1938 once the IO 2008 comes into effect.
"We hope the new law will improve the poor situation in the industry. It is an outcome of our demands and movement," Nasir A Choudhury, managing director of Green Delta Insurance Company Ltd, claimed.
The Insurance Regulatory Authority will be a five-member team, consisting of a chairman and four other members, for a three-year term. The head of the organisation will be an official not below ihe rank of a secretary.
The draft law propose an increase in paid-up capital for both general and life insurance companies. The amount of paid-up capital for a general insurance company has been raised to Tk 40 crore from Tk 15 crore, and to Tk 30 crore from Tk 7.5 crore for life insurance companies.
A mandatory solvency margin for the companies will also be introduced, according to the new law. The companies, particularly the general insurers, should have brokerage houses. Besides, the insurers, both life and general, are required to ensure international accounting practice, separate Islamic insurance from conventional ones and put a limit on commission expenses and reduce the number of directors in their respective boards. The new law will allow foreign investment in general insurance companies.
All the countries in South Asia have modernised their insurance laws, considering the sector's contribution to the economy.
There are 62 insurance companies in operation under the private sector in Bangladesh, of which 17 are life insurance companies and 43 general. The government owns two companies: Sadharan Bima Corporation and Jiban Bima Corporation.