ICRA Nepal Reaffirms Citizen Life’s ‘BBB+’ Rating on Strong Solvency and Steady Growth

Kathmandu — ICRA Nepal has reaffirmed Citizen Life Insurance Company Limited’s issuer credit rating at ‘BBB+’ (Triple B Plus), signaling a strong capacity to meet financial obligations on time with a relatively low level of financial risk.

The rating agency cited several supporting factors: the company’s business expansion, market share, policy renewal rate, investment quality, reinsurance arrangements, solvency position, and nationwide presence. Citizen Life’s total premium income grew by roughly 24 percent in fiscal year 2025/26. ICRA noted that while some of this growth reflects the smaller base from which newer life insurers typically expand, Citizen Life has nonetheless sustained steady business growth.

Citizen Life currently holds about 4.6 percent of Nepal’s life insurance market by total premium income and around 6.2 percent by first-year premium income, a meaningful footprint in a competitive sector. Long-term insurance plans continue to anchor the company’s business, accounting for approximately 91 percent of total premium income in fiscal year 2025/26, which ICRA said lends stability to its overall business base.

Policy retention has also held steady. The renewal rate, measured by premium income, stood at around 88 percent in both fiscal years 2081/82 and 2082/83, reflecting a strong ability to retain existing policyholders.

As of mid-July 2026, marking the end of fiscal year 2025/26, Citizen Life’s total investments stood at approximately NPR 31 billion, excluding loans against insurance policies. Fixed deposits with commercial banks and debentures issued by similarly rated banks together made up around 77 percent of this portfolio, a concentration ICRA said has contributed to stability and relative security in the company’s investments.

ICRA also described the company’s reinsurance arrangements as satisfactory, noting that its coverage, including provisions for catastrophe risk, supports its ability to manage claim liabilities from major disasters and reinforces its claim-paying capacity and solvency even under extraordinary loss scenarios.

The company’s risk-based capital to solvency ratio stood at 1.73 times as of mid-July 2025, comfortably above the regulatory minimum of 1.30 times set under the Risk-Based Capital and Solvency Directive, 2082. Although this marks a decline from 3.42 times a year earlier, ICRA noted the ratio remains well above the required threshold, indicating a comfortable solvency position.

Citizen Life’s geographic diversification and strong agency network have further supported its expansion, with nationwide service delivery through its agent base reinforcing its business foundation. ICRA also pointed to Nepal’s still-low insurance penetration as a continuing growth opportunity for the company.

Citizen Life Insurance Company Limited has been in operation since October 2017. Its major promoters include Pradip Jung Pandey (approximately 5.3 percent ownership), Kantipur Publications Private Limited (approximately 5.2 percent), and Sumit Kumar Agrawal (approximately 5.2 percent). As of mid-July 2026, the promoter-to-public shareholding ratio stood at 70:30. The company operates around 136 service and business centers nationwide to generate new business and serve existing customers, supported by approximately 40,200 individual agents and 51 institutional agents.