Nepal Insurance Authority Tightens Monitoring on Data Discrepancies

Kathmandu – The Nepal Insurance Authority (NIA) has intensified its oversight of insurance companies following significant discrepancies between their audited and unaudited financial reports. The regulatory body has warned of strict actions, including financial penalties, if differences exceeding 10% are identified in their data.

Spokesperson of NIA, Susil Dev Subedi has stated that insurance companies must now submit a formal explanation for any discrepancies between audited and unaudited statements. Additionally, companies are required to provide the long-form audit report from external auditors and prepare financial statements in accordance with the NIA’s prescribed formats.

The move comes after irregularities worth millions were discovered in last year’s data, highlighting inconsistencies between real-time transactions and records submitted via insurers’ core software systems. To address this, the Authority has introduced uniform criteria for calculating financial indices such as net worth per share, net profit, book value, and market price per share.

The NIA has emphasized that failure to meet the new standards or justify discrepancies will result in penalties under the Insurance Act 2079 BS.