Kathmandu. According to the Institutional Good Governance Guidelines 2080, the deputy chief executive officer (DCEO) should be appointed within three months of the vacancy. Nepal Insurance Authority (INSURANCEA) has made such a provision through the guidelines so that no insurer should be without leadership due to unexpected reasons.
Although there is a clear provision in the guidelines, the post of deputy executive chief has been lying vacant in seven insurance companies for more than three months.
Looking at the information available on the websites of insurance companies, the state-owned Nepal Reinsurance Company has been without a deputy executive head for years. Damodar Bhandari is the assistant chief executive instead of the chief executive. According to the provisions of the Institutional Good Governance Guidelines, he is not the Deputy CEO, but the Assistant CHIEF Executive Officer.
Among the non-life insurers, Prabhu Insurance and Himalayan Everest Insurance are without deputy CHIEF executive officers. Prabhu Insurance has not had a deputy CHIEF executive officer for a long time. Prabhu Insurance’s website has been removed from the information containing the identity of the top management team citing technical problems. Similarly, the post has been lying vacant since the promotion of Anju Shrestha to the post of chief executive at Himalayan Everest in November last year.
The post has been lying vacant since the exit of Pawan Kumar Khadka, senior deputy chief executive officer of Surya Jyoti Life, in November last year. There has been no promotion or new appointment of another employee.
Similarly, inline_tags_PLACEHOLDER_10 not only the deputy chief executive but also the chief executive officer has not been appointed in Met Life Insurance. Nirmal Kaji Shrestha is the vice-president and general manager of Met Life Nepal. His position is not recognised by the Institutional Good Governance Guidelines 2080.
Similarly, out of the seven micro insurers, the post of Deputy CHIEF Executive Officer in Protective Micro and Liberty Micro Life Insurance is also vacant.
The NEA has also issued a provision to prepare the succession plan of the insurer through the guidelines. Clause 18 of the first amendment to the Institutional Good Governance Guidelines, 2080 states that the insurer should prepare a succession plan and appoint a deputy executive chief as the successor of the chief executive. After repeated amendments, the new guidelines were issued in 2080, but the provision of the first amendment was also implemented on August 15.
The NRA has incorporated provisions related to the deputy executive chief to provide services to a large number of people, effectively mobilize the savings of the insured, protect and take decisions related to the appropriate risk assessment of insurance.
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Institutional Good Governance Guidelines 2080[/caption]#
Spokesperson and Executive Director of Nepal Insurance Authority Sushil Dev Subedi said that the AUTHORITY would take necessary action immediately against the insurers violating the provisions of institutional good governance guidelines in the appointment of deputy executive chiefs. “We will immediately seek an explanation from the concerned insurer and take necessary decision in this regard,” he said.
