Himalayan Everest Insurance Found Returning Part of Insurance Fee as Advertising Expense

Kathmandu — A review has shown that Himalayan Everest Insurance returned a portion of an insurance fee collected from Labim Mall in Lalitpur by categorizing it as advertising expenditure.

The company had charged around Rs. 3 million in insurance premiums under a property insurance policy issued to Labim Mall. According to available information, an arrangement was made to return Rs. 50,000 per month to the insured party. In total, Rs. 600,000 was returned to Labim Mall, with the company stating that the amount was allocated for displaying its advertising board within the premises.

Findings also indicate that the company has used similar approaches in other insurance policies by listing promotional or comparable expenses. In some instances, reimbursement has reportedly been shown under headings such as staff salary support.

The Nepal Insurance Authority has placed a complete restriction on cashback arrangements. Practices such as cashback and loan-linked insurance—which had declined in the past—are reported to be reappearing in parts of the market.

The Authority had previously conducted on-site reviews to examine cashback practices. However, challenges remain in fully addressing the issue, partly due to incomplete file disclosures by some insurers during inspections and limited follow-up by some regulatory staff.