Government Plans to Shift Foreign Employment Term Insurance to State-Owned Firms
Kathmandu — The government is preparing to overhaul the structure of foreign employment term insurance, with plans to transfer the business from private insurers to state-owned companies. Officials from the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Finance are currently in discussions about handing over the foreign employment term life insurance portfolio to a government-owned insurer. According to the secretariat of Balen Shah, the move is driven by concerns that, despite rising government investment in state-owned enterprises, expected returns have not materialized. The government is therefore considering routing foreign employment insurance through public insurers. A recent economic status report released by the Ministry of Finance reached a similar conclusion, noting that increased public investment has not yielded the desired returns. The ministry also highlighted institutional weaknesses in insurance companies established with government funding, particularly in financial and managerial capacity. Following further review, the government is now preparing to make foreign employment insurance mandatory through state-run providers. At present, 13 life insurance companies offer foreign employment term life insurance in Nepal. Excluding MetLife and Life Insurance Corporation Nepal, the country has 13 life insurers and three micro life insurance companies. The two aforementioned companies do not sell this specific policy, while all others do. However, Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle has not endorsed the proposal put forward by Prime Minister Balen Shah. No formal consultations have yet been held with the Nepal Insurance Authority, state-owned insurers, or other industry stakeholders. Foreign employment term life insurance currently generates annual premiums of roughly NPR 2.5 billion to NPR 3 billion. Data from the Insurance Authority show that NPR 2.5 billion was collected from this segment in the first nine months of the current fiscal year 2025/26.