The revenue generated by NLIC in the last fiscal year is 5.2 percent higher than the previous year. [break]
The income of the company, which boasts over 136,000 policyholders, has grown following the introduction of new short-term life insurance plan called NLIC Saral Jeevan Beema, under which premiums are collected only once in lump sum, Rameshwor Shrestha, chief finance officer of the company, told Republica.
These single-premium life insurance policies, with a maturity period of five to 10 years, were sold for a minimum of Rs 50,000.
Another factor that contributed to the company´s revenue growth is rise in public awareness about benefits of purchasing life insurance policies in emerging markets of rural areas, Shrestha said.
Although he did not elaborate on the number of new insurance policies sold in rural areas in the last fiscal year, he said many are attracted by insurance policies´ money-back olan for beneficiaries in case of sudden demise.
Also, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) benefited from rural population´s growing awareness about life insurance policies.
Like NLIC, LIC also did not provide figures on the number of policies sold in rural areas but an official of the company told Republica that rural markets have started boosting the company´s revenue.
The insurance company´s income topped Rs 1.87 billion last fiscal year, up 21.8 percent to secure the second position in terms of revenue collection.
Like NLIC and LIC, National Life Insurance Company also generated "a good portion of revenue" from rural areas.
Arjun Khadka, assistant manager of the company, told Republica that National Life Insurance has opened 99 contact offices in emerging markets of rural districts such as Lamjung, Gorkha, Makwanpur, Jumla and Okhaldhunga to tap business opportunities.
"These places have families with members employed abroad," Khadka said. "These families, which have a significant chunk of disposable income, have seen or heard of policyholders getting bonuses at regular intervals and a large sum of money after the policy matures. This is attracting a lot of people to insurance plans," he said.
Another factor that propped up the company´s revenue collection, Khadka said, was private companies´ decision to enroll its employees in various insurance plans.
According to Khadka, most of the commercial bank employees are now insured. "But other corporate houses, especially those located in Kathmandu, have also started offering insurance coverage as a perk to employees, generating new income source to insurance companies," he said.
Because of these factors the company generated an income of Rs 1.68 billion last fiscal year, securing third position in the list of top life insurance companies in the country in terms of premium collection.
Currently, nine life insurance companies are operating in the country. These companies collected premium worth Rs 10.44 billion last fiscal year, up 18 percent.
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