DHAKA, Feb 28, 2021 (BSS) – National Insurance Day-2021 will be observed in the country tomorrow in a befitting manner with the theme ‘Mujib Borsher Ongikar, Bima Hok Sobar’.
President M Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today greeted all involved in the insurance industry, including insurance companies and the general people on the occasion of National Insurance Day.
On the eve of the day, they issued separate messages greeting them and termed the theme of the day as time-befitting.
“The great architect of independence, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman joined the Alpha Insurance Company on March 1, 1960 and took up insurance as a profession.
To commemorate this day, the government decided to observe National Insurance Day on March 1 every year,” said the Preside said in his message.
He urged all involved in insurance to come forward to provide a positive outlook on insurance and provide customer-friendly services through timely payment of customer insurance claims, adherence to internationally recognized policies, ensuring transparency through the use of information technology and raising public awareness.
In her message, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said considering the importance of insurance and its contribution to the national economy, the government of Bangabandhu issued the Bangladesh Insurance (Nationalisation) Order, 1972 in 1972 to give more priority to the development of the insurance industry after independence by nationalizing 49 domestic and foreign insurance companies.
She added that the government formed the Karnaphuli, Teesta, Surma and Rupsa Bima (insurance) Corporations alongside forming the National Insurance Corporation to control these four institutions
Later, in a short period of time, the Insurance Corporation Act-1973 was made for the development of the insurance industry of the country, the premier said, adding that the act dissolved these four corporations and formed two separate insurance corporations called ‘Life Insurance Corporation (Jiban Bima Corporation)’ and ‘Sadharan Bima Corporation’.
These two corporations are still providing insurance services to the people of the country by conducting insurance business, she continued.
She said the government also established the Department of Insurance under the Ministry of Commerce to control insurance companies.
Following the path shown by the father of the nation in the development of the insurance industry, the Awami League(AL) led government has been carrying out various reforms since 2009 with the aim of conveying the importance and benefits of insurance to the people, she added.
The AL-led government has taken timely steps to develop the insurance sector through the implementation of the ‘National Insurance Policy-2014’, Hasina said.
Expatriate worker insurance has been introduced for expatriate Bangladeshis while weather index based crop insurance (in a limited scale) has been introduced in the haor area to cover losses from floods and natural disasters, she added.
The State of the Art Technology based Unified Messaging Platform (UMP) system has been introduced to protect the interests of insurance customers, the premier said, adding that large projects like Padma Multipurpose Bridge Project, Metrorail Project and Ruppur Nuclear Power Plant, the Sadharan Bima Corporation, popularly known as SBC, has made special contribution to these projects.
She said SBC also made contributions to the economic development of the country by increasing the capacity of domestic companies in insurance industry.
She added that a project worth Taka 632 crore is underway for capacity building and automation of Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority Bangladesh, Life Insurance Corporation, Sadharan Bima Corporation and Bangladesh Insurance Academy with the funding from the government and the World Bank.
“If this is implemented, the capacity of the country’s insurance sector will increase further,” she hoped.
BSS