With the country grappling with the economic slowdown, the insurance business has taken a beating in the current fiscal year. Both life and non-life insurance business grew in single digits in the first half of the current fiscal year 2022/23. After growing in double digits in previous years, the insurance business (life and non-life) grew by a meager two percent in the first six months of the current fiscal year compared to a growth of 15 percent in the same period of the last fiscal year. The statistics of the Nepal Insurance Authority (NIA) show life and non-life companies collected insurance premiums totaling Rs 91.73 billion in the first half of FY 2022/23 which was Rs 90.12 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year. Similarly, insurance premiums increased by only Rs 1.72 billion in this fiscal year.

According to NIA, life insurance companies collected premiums amounting to Rs 71.65 billion in the first six months of the current fiscal year, while it was Rs 20.08 billion for non-life insurance companies.

The premium collection of life insurance companies during the same period of the last fiscal stood at Rs 70.91 billion and non-life insurance companies at Rs 19.09 billion. According to NIA Executive Director Raju Raman Poudel, the ongoing economic slowdown has affected the insurance business. "Insurance business is facing challenges due to the high-interest rates, liquidity crunch, and rising inflation. These factors have reduced the common people's purchasing power," he said. Manoj Kumar Lal Karna, CEO of Union Life Insurance, is of the view that the growth of the insurance business has been held back in the current fiscal year due to the economic slowdown. "Currently, we are seeing surrender of life insurance policies in large numbers," he said. According to Karna, insurance premiums of large amounts are generally paid by borrowing money from banks. As banks are struggling with a liquidity crunch, borrowing from them has become difficult in this fiscal year and customers have not been able to pay the premiums. "As a result, there has been a big decline in the growth rate of the insurance business," he said. Insurers say that the rise in the non-renewal and surrendering of insurance policies is dragging the business down. The trend of surrendering the policy before the maturity period is increasing, according to insurance companies. The NIA data shows insurers have surrendered Rs 6.08 billion during this period. 43,715 insurance policies were surrendered in the last six months. Insurance Premium Collection

Sector	First Six Month 2021/22	First Six Month 2022/23
Life Insurance Companies	Rs 70.91 billion	Rs 71.65 billion
Non-Life Insurance Companies	Rs 19.09 billion	Rs 20.08 billion
Total	Rs 90 billion	Rs 91.73 billion