Brac, Guardian Life Insurance sign deal to introduce ‘Chhaya– Savings Shield Insurance’ for microfinance clients

Brac, a development organisation, and Guardian Life Insurance Ltd signed an agreement to introduce a savings shield branded as "Chhaya– Savings Shield Insurance" for microfinance clients.

The signing ceremony was held on Sunday (18 September) at the Brac Centre auditorium at Mohakhali in the capital, said a press release.

Sheikh Rakibul Karim FCA, chief executive officer, Guardian Life Insurance Limited and Tushar Bhowmik, chief financial officer, Brac , signed the agreement on behalf of their respective organisations.

Arinjoy Dhar, senior director, Brac Microfinance, Abdul Halim, head of Microinsurance, Guardian Life and other senior officials of Brac and Guardian Life also attended the ceremony.

As per the terms of the savings shield insurance plan, if there is a sudden demise of the depositor of a monthly savings scheme, "Chhaya" will pay the full maturity value of the scheme to the nominee.

This comes in continuation of the Guardian-Brac Bima (GBB), a breakthrough microinsurance project of Guardian Life and Brac , which has brought credit shield microinsurance product to over 10 million people across Bangladesh.

According to the media release, the Guardian-Brac Bima (GBB) was introduced when the two establishments started working jointly in 2015, aiming to ensure basic financial protection for the underprivileged. The GBB project operation now spans across 2500+ branches of Brac .

Till date GBB has paid-out over 110,000 claims of microfinance borrowers where the outstanding loans of the micro borrowers were paid off by the project - totaling over BDT 515 crores, while an additional BDT 100+ crores in funeral benefits have been granted to families, with an impressive claim payout ratio of 99 percent.

"We have always been strong proponents of 'Inclusive insurance' and 'Insurance for all'. Accordingly, we had launched Guardian-Brac Bima (GBB) project and transformed the lives of over 10 million people, 85% of whom are women. We truly believe this savings shield microinsurance 'Chhaya' will be the most iconic microinsurance plan," said Sheikh Rakibul Karim FCA, CEO, Guardian Life.

"Brac and Guardian Life will work hand in hand to create the magic once again on a much bigger magnitude," he added.

Tushar Bhowmick, CFO, Brac talked about this new stepping stone in the field of financial inclusion.

Arinjoy Dhar, senior director, Brac Microfinance said in his speech, "During the pandemic, we saw how insurance can save us from potential crisis and that represents how great it is as a weapon for financial resilience."      

Brac is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) and has achieved success by bringing integrated and sustainable development, including economic solutions, to millions of the world's underprivileged people.

Guardian Life Insurance Ltd. is the top-ranked 4th-generation insurer of the country which has flourished within a short span of time by remaining committed to its core philosophy–"Insurance for All" through continuous innovation in product, process and business models.