Bangla Govt draws up guidelines for issuing life insurance licences
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bangladeshi government is preparing guidelines for the issuing of life insurance licences, given the avalanche of applications it has received for starting insurance operations. According to reports, the insurance regulator - Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) - is drafting the guidelines under the supervision of the Finance Ministry. Government has so far received more than 400 applications for life insurance licences over the last two years.

IDRA sources say that the regulator would call for fresh applications, possibly in March, after the guidelines are approved. Currently, there are 18 life insurers in the country. IDRA says that despite the number of life insurance companies in the country, insurance penetration and density remain low. IDRA officials say that there is scope for further expansion in the industry through allowing new players into the market. It is understood that the regulator may issue two or three new life insurance licences in the private sector.