New provision for granting agricultural insurance subsidies to insurance companies

KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 8: Starting from October 17, the Nepal Insurance Authority will grant agricultural insurance subsidies to insurance companies only upon the recommendation of provincial district offices that oversee agriculture, fisheries, and livestock sectors. This new provision was introduced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development through the enactment of the Procedure for Providing Subsidies on Crop and Livestock Insurance Premium 2081.

The ministry established this procedure to address the disorganization in the previous system of distributing agricultural insurance subsidies. According to the guidelines approved through a ministerial decision on October 2, individuals or firms seeking subsidized insurance must submit an application to the respective insurance companies.

Insurance companies will only issue policies after receiving these applications. They are required to collect the premium amount excluding the subsidy and then proceed with issuing the insurance. Once the insurance is finalized, a recommendation letter from the provincial district office overseeing the agriculture, fisheries, and livestock sectors must be submitted to claim the subsidy. The authority will afterwards disburse the subsidy amount based solely on the office's recommendation.

Furthermore, individuals or firms receiving agricultural insurance subsidies from the authority will be ineligible to receive any similar benefits under the same category from provincial or local governments.

Additionally, the procedure classifies subsidy amounts based on the insured sum. An 80% subsidy is provided for insurance coverage up to 5 million rupees, 65% for insurance ranging between 5 million and 10 million rupees, and 50% for insurance above 10 million rupees.