Life Insurers’ Policy Loans Surpass Rs. 97.5 Billion; IME Life Leads Growth
Kathmandu — Nepal’s life insurance industry continued to expand its policy loan portfolio during the current fiscal year (2025/26, with total loans issued against life insurance policies exceeding Rs. 97.54 billion by the end of the third quarter.
According to the third-quarter financial statements of the country’s 14 life insurers, outstanding policy loans reached Rs. 97.55 billion, up 2.65 percent from Rs. 95.03 billion recorded during the same period of the previous fiscal year.
Policy loans allow policyholders to borrow against the surrender value accumulated in their life insurance policies. The facility provides policyholders with quick access to funds without surrendering their policies or pledging additional assets, making it an increasingly popular source of short-term financing.
Nepal Life Insurance remained the market leader, with an outstanding policy loan portfolio of Rs. 36.81 billion. However, its portfolio declined 0.59 percent year-on-year.
LIC Nepal ranked second, extending Rs. 20.42 billion in policy loans, although its loan portfolio contracted 6.39 percent compared to a year earlier.
National Life Insurance followed with Rs. 13.26 billion, while Himalayan Life and Asian Life reported policy loan portfolios of Rs. 8.54 billion and Rs. 5.28 billion, respectively.
Among the remaining insurers, SuryaJyoti Life extended Rs. 5.13 billion in policy loans, followed by Sanima Reliance Life (Rs. 1.84 billion), MetLife Nepal (Rs. 1.78 billion), Prabhu Mahalaxmi Life (Rs. 1.46 billion), IME Life (Rs. 1.23 billion), Citizen Life (Rs. 1.18 billion), Sun Nepal Life (Rs. 791.5 million), and Reliable Nepal Life (Rs. 634.1 million). Rastriya Jeevan Beema Company has not disclosed its policy loan figures.
In terms of annual growth, IME Life recorded the strongest performance, with its policy loan portfolio expanding by 35.51%. It was followed by Reliable Nepal Life (26.53%), Sanima Reliance Life (26.41%), Citizen Life (22.83%), Prabhu Mahalaxmi Life (18.40%), and SuryaJyoti Life (16.83%).
Other insurers reporting positive growth included Sun Nepal Life (12.38%), Himalayan Life (10.32%), National Life (8.90 %), and Asian Life (3.87%).
In contrast, three major insurers reported a decline in their policy loan portfolios. LIC Nepal posted the steepest drop at 6.39%, followed by MetLife Nepal (3.20%) and Nepal Life (0.59%).
Overall, the third-quarter figures point to continued growth in policy lending across Nepal’s life insurance sector. Ten insurers expanded their policy loan portfolios during the review period, while eight recorded double-digit growth. However, contractions at two of the industry’s largest players, Nepal Life and LIC Nepal, moderated the sector’s overall expansion.
