Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority

regulatory · verified (verified 2026-05-17)

Profile

Head: —
Role: Chairman
Annual budget: —
Staff: —
Established: 2011
Legal basis: Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority Act, 2010 (Act No. 12 of 2010), enacted 18 March 2010; Insurance Act, 2010 (Act No. 13 of 2010); IDRA formally constituted on 26 January 2011

IDRA is operating without a permanent chairman since Dr. M. Aslam Alam's resignation on 2 March 2026; the IDRA (Amendment) Act passed on 30 April 2026 removed the 67-year age cap to enable a broader pool of candidates. The regulator's central challenge remains a sectoral claims crisis: Tk 7,158 crore in unpaid claims as of March 2025 across 32 high-risk firms, life insurer settlement rates collapsed to 66.06% from 85% in 2020, and Padma Islami Life has a Tk 272 crore life-fund deficit with only 4.49% of claims paid. On structural reform: the zero-commission non-life circular (effective 1 January 2026) is in full force; IDRA has recommended scrapping the mandatory 50% SBC reinsurance cession (embedded in the US-Bangladesh trade deal); and the Insurer Resolution Ordinance 2025 awaits MoF gazette. Total insurance premium income was Tk 18,768 crore in 2024 (life: Tk 12,266 crore; non-life: Tk 6,502 crore), with sector penetration at just 0.50% of GDP.

Recent activity

2026-02-17 statement IDRA data showed life insurance unpaid claims had risen to approximately 12 lakh policyholders as of early 2026; life insurer claim settlement rate declined from 85% in 2020 to 66.06% by end-2025, far below the global average of 97-98%; total outstanding claims across life and non-life stood at Tk 7,158 crore as of March 2025. ↗↗
2026-03-02 appointment Dr. M. Aslam Alam, Chairman of IDRA (appointed September 2024, former Senior Secretary), resigned citing personal reasons, submitting his resignation letter to the Secretary of the Financial Institutions Division on 2 March 2026; no formal replacement had been gazetted as of 17 May 2026, leaving the chairmanship vacant. ↗↗↗↗
2026-03-15 regulation IDRA's zero-commission circular for non-life insurance (effective 1 January 2026) entered full implementation: all non-life individual agent licences suspended, eliminating the 15% brokerage commission structure; 44 of 46 non-life CEOs had supported the move; the Bangladesh Insurance Forum's five-member vigilance team began monitoring compliance. ↗↗
2026-04-20 reform Financial Institutions Division proposed removing the mandatory 50% reinsurance cession to Sadharan Bima Corporation (SBC) from the Insurance Corporation Act 2019, acting on IDRA recommendations; IDRA data showed SBC owed more than Tk 14 billion (Tk 1,400 crore) to insurers as at December 2024 and required 19 documents to settle claims versus four for international reinsurers; the reform was also embedded in the US-Bangladesh Agreement on Reciprocal Trade. ↗↗↗
2026-04-30 legal Jatiya Sangsad passed the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026 by voice vote, removing the existing maximum age cap of 67 years for appointment of IDRA's chairman and members; the companion BSEC Amendment Bill (removing age 65 cap for BSEC) was passed simultaneously; Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said the change enables appointment of more experienced professionals; the amendment was understood to clear the path for a senior retired official or industry figure to be named chairman. ↗↗↗↗
2026-05-01 audit IDRA's special audits of 15 life insurers (Padma Islami Life, Fareast Islami Life, Prime Islami Life, Sunflower Life, Sunlife, Golden Life, Baira Life, Progressive Life, NRB Islamic Life, Diamond Life, Best Life, Protective Islami Life, Jamuna Life, Swadesh Life, Homeland Life) were ongoing; IDRA had classified 32 insurers (15 life, 17 non-life) as 'high risk' and appointed observers including to Padma Islami Life; Padma Islami Life's life fund was Tk 272 crore in deficit with outstanding claims of Tk 230 crore and a claim payment rate of 4.49%. ↗↗↗↗
2026-05-10 reform Insurer Resolution Ordinance 2025 (finalised by IDRA, submitted to FID for MoF review) remained pending gazette notification; the ordinance would empower IDRA to appoint administrators to distressed insurers, dissolve boards, transfer portfolios to bridge entities, and draw on a special fund backed by government, World Bank IDA, ADB, IBRD, and IsDB contributions; a parallel amendment to the Insurance Act 2010 and IDRA Act was also stalled pending industry feedback. ↗↗↗

Provenance & notes

IDRA was constituted on 26 January 2011 under the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority Act 2010 (Act No. 12 of 2010) and the companion Insurance Act 2010 (Act No. 13 of 2010), both enacted 18 March 2010; established_year reflects the actual constitution date (2011), not the enactment of enabling legislation (2010). It is a statutory autonomous body under the administrative jurisdiction of the Financial Institutions Division, Ministry of Finance. The sector has 36 life insurance companies and 46 non-life (general) insurers as at 2024-25. Premium data (2024): life Tk 12,266 crore, non-life Tk 6,502 crore, total Tk 18,768 crore (source: IDRA/The Daily Star, January 2025); penetration 0.50% of GDP. The chairmanship vacancy is the most significant governance event in the 90-day window: Dr. M. Aslam Alam (former Senior Secretary, appointed September 2024 on a contractual three-year term) resigned 2 March 2026; the IDRA Amendment Act passed 30 April 2026 removed the age-67 ceiling to clear the path for a replacement, but no successor had been gazetted as of 17 May 2026. Padma Islami Life figures (Tk 272 crore life-fund deficit, Tk 230 crore outstanding claims, 4.49% payment rate) are from audited IDRA/TBS News data attributed to the period ending mid-2025; S Alam Group's management since 2018 is cited as the primary cause of the deterioration. SBC reinsurance data (Tk 14 billion owed to insurers as at December 2024, 19-document claim requirement) is from IDRA-reported figures cited in Insurance Business Magazine and TBS News. The Insurer Resolution Ordinance 2025 was finalised by IDRA and submitted to FID but had not been gazetted as of May 2026; the parallel Insurance Act 2010 and IDRA Act amendment was stalled pending industry owner feedback as of late 2025. All data points verified against 2+ primary sources.

Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority

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