Nepal Insurance Authority and MetLife Host ‘Risk Resilience Exchange’ Program
Kathmandu – Nepal Insurance Authority (NIA), in collaboration with MetLife, organized the ‘MetLife-NIA Risk Resilience Exchange: Advancing Insurance Excellence’ program to enhance sustainability, capability, and risk tolerance in Nepal’s insurance industry.
The event, held at the Marriott Hotel, Naxal, brought together senior officials from the NIA, including Executive Director Sushil Dev Subedi, Directors Pujan Dhungel Adhikari, Dhruv Timilsina, and Nirmal Adhikari, along with other employees. Representing MetLife were CEO Nirmal Kajee Shrestha and members of the senior management team.
Key presentations were delivered virtually by MetLife’s regional leaders, including Kasity Ha (Senior Vice President & Chief Risk Officer, Asia), Albert Oh (Assistant Vice President, Operational Risk, AXJ), Chi Shan Wong (Assistant Vice President, Non-Financial Risk Assessment, AXJ), Emma Innis (Assistant Vice President, Operations Governance & Compliance, AXJ), and Jung Seung Lee (Assistant Vice President, Financial Risk, AXJ). Topics covered risk management frameworks, risk-based supervision, and emerging risk assessment practices.
In his remarks, MetLife CEO Shrestha emphasized that this was the first collaborative initiative of its kind with NIA and expressed confidence that such programs will provide new direction for Nepal’s insurance industry by strengthening risk management and fostering deeper cooperation between regulators and insurers. He highlighted the value of sharing global expertise and knowledge to strengthen the domestic sector.
Executive Director Subedi noted that Nepal has already developed a risk-based supervision (RBS) framework in partnership with the Toronto Centre, and pilot exercises have been initiated with selected insurers. He acknowledged challenges in full-scale implementation, including technological and institutional capacity gaps, and stressed the need to enhance regulatory capability to align with global standards.
Deputy Director Rajendra Maharjan and Assistant Director Gokulraj Dahal presented insights on RBS, underlining the importance of regulator-industry collaboration to address emerging risks and create a resilient insurance ecosystem.
Closing the session, Director Pujan Dhungel Adhikari underscored that the learnings shared should be effectively applied within organizations and across the industry to ensure lasting impact. The program was moderated by Anupam Kharel, Head of Risks and Companies, MetLife, who expressed optimism that such partnerships would make Nepal’s insurance market more transparent, competitive, and internationally aligned.