Astha Life Insurance starts as Bangladesh’s 33rd life insurer
New insurance company will focus on serving the members and families of the Bangladesh armed forces
The insurance regulatory authority of Bangladesh has approved Astha Life Insurance Company Ltd, a new venture of the Army Welfare Trust, as the country's 33rd life insurer.
The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority approved the operation of the life insurance company a few weeks ago.
Astha Life Insurance got the registration and licence under the condition that they will comply with the Insurance Act and with all other relevant rules and regulations, said Gokul Chand Das, a member and spokesperson of the insurance regulator.
The new life insurance company published an advertisement last month to recruit 129 qualified employees at different levels of the organisation. It will hire 88 experienced people and 41 fresh graduates as junior officials.
Bangladesh is one of the least penetrated insurance markets in the world with a huge potential.
The government approved a number of insurance companies both in the life and the non-life sectors over the last decade with a view to increasing insurance penetration in the country's economy.
But few of the newly licensed companies have been successful, leading the entire industry to be burdened with over competition and low profitability.
Many of the new generation companies are in a bad financial condition because they have not been able to improve their business.
But, Astha Life Insurance Company Ltd should be successful because they are seriously focusing on serving the members and families of the Bangladesh armed forces. And, their potential market should be large enough for them to thrive as a new generation life insurer, said officials of the government insurance regulatory body.