Regulator appoints observer to Padma Islami Life Insurance
The insurance regulator has appointed an observer on the board of directors of Padma Islami Life Insurance to protect the interest of policy holders of the company.
The company said in its statement filed on the stock exchange on Monday, the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (Idra) has sent its Director Jahangir Alam to the company's board as observer to ensure good governance.
The disclosure also said Idra stated that policyholders are constantly filing complaints with the regulator due to non-payment of insurance claims on time by the company.
Morshed Alam Siddiqui, acting chief executive officer at Padma Islami Life Insurance, told The Business Standard, "We welcome this decision because the observer can sit on our board and see the company's activities directly. He will understand what steps we are taking to settle the outstanding claims."
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"After taking charge of the company, we have paid Tk300 crore of policyholders' claims in the last four years. But we do still have a lot of liabilities which will hopefully be resolved by 2024," he added.
Back in 2018, business conglomerate S Alam Group took over the company's board. At that time, Padma Islami Life Insurance was going through a tough time because of the previous owner's malfeasance.
In five years, its life fund came down by 99.51% and stood at Tk6.28 crore on 30 September 2022. Total outstanding claim stood at Tk23.21 crore at the end of September 2022.
The price of its shares fell by 3.53% to Tk46.5 each on Monday at the Dhaka Stock Exchange over the observer appointment news.
Previously, the Idra appointed observers at two other life insurers – Progressive Life Insurance and Sunlife Insurance – to protect the interests of policyholders and ensure good governance in the companies.
