Insurance fair begins in Sylhet on Friday

A two-day insurance fair will begin in Sylhet on Friday with a view to raising people's trust in insurers.

The Insurance Development & Regulatory Authority (IDRA) is organising the Insurance Fair 2017 at the gymnasium of the District Sports Council in the northeastern city.

"The main objective of the fair is to take insurance services to the people living in the remote areas," said Shafiqur Rahman Patwari, chairman of the regulatory body, at a press conference at its headquarters in Dhaka yesterday.

He said the event would be helpful in building trust of the clients in insurance policies.

Insurance companies will settle claims of Tk 18 crore at the fair, Patwari said.

Visitors will be able to know about life, health, fire, accident and car insurance as well as pension schemes, according to the IDRA.  Gokul Chand Das, a member of the regulator, said the IDRA puts more efforts on settling insurance claims in order to boost policyholders' confidence.

About Tk 100 crore worth insurance claims were settled in the last four months.

Of the 78 insurance companies in the country, 32 will participate in the show. The fourth-generation insurance companies seem reluctant to take part. Of the 15 new insurance companies that got licences in 2013, only three will display their products and services at the fair.

The new insurance companies have not been able to introduce new products in the market, said Das.

"As a result, they are lagging behind the existing insurance companies," he said.

In Bangladesh, the insurance business has remained largely untapped.

The sector's contribution to the gross domestic product is 0.7 percent whereas it is 4 percent in India.

MA Mannan, state minister for finance and planning, is expected to inaugurate the second edition of the fair, which will stay open for visitors from 10:00am to 8:00pm.