Transport entrepreneurs alone have unsettled claims worth over Rs 150 million. Officials of the Insurance Board (IB) - the insurance sector regulator - say the total claim amount could be significant.
The management of the non-life insurer has repeatedly turned deaf ears to the regulator´s call to furnish it the claim details and other figures. IB had asked EIC on July 19 to submit details within 15 days. But the EIC management has not forwarded any details to the IB so far.
Meanwhile, employees of EIC are staging sit-in protest on IB premises since four day, demanding the insurance regulator intervention into the company. They say the company CEO, Kebal Krishan Shrestha, is on a long leave and that that company´s board hasn´t held any meeting for a long time.
Earlier, the employees had protested at the company premises for 70 days.
“We want the insurance regulator to take action against people involved in anomalies at EIC and take a decision on the suspension of company´s fire portfolio at the earliest,” Shamsher Rokka, a leader of the agitating employees, told Republica.
IB had suspended EIC´s fire portfolio after the company was found making insurance payment to Himalayan Snax, a company owned by one of the promoter of insurance company, without following due procedures.
Rokka said the employees put pressure on the management to duly follow IB direction and paved the way for resumption of the company´s fire portfolio. “But the management was unresponsive to our demand,” he added.
A year ago, IB had penalized the CEO and asked the company to recover Rs 40 million paid to Himalayan Snax a year ago. It had also issued other directions to the company. But the company paid no heed to the directions.
Talking to this daily, Saroj Sitaula, treasurer of National Transport Entrepreneurs Federation of Nepal, said they have repeatedly drawn attention of the IB toward their pending claims at the EIC. “IB, however, did nothing. We have been held hostage of indecisiveness,” he said.
Sitaula said transport entrepreneurs couldn´t bring buses into operation for Dashain because of the uncertainty over release of insurance claims.
IB Chairman Phatta Bahadur KC said they have invited members of the EIC board for meeting on Monday. “We will take decision on the issue on Monday itself,” KC said, adding, “We will take necessary decision on the demand of employees as well as the claimants.”
KC also said the IB has frozen the deposit amount of EIC to ensure the security of the claimants. “If the company does not abide by our directives, we will have no option but to liquidate it as per the Insurance Act 1992,” he added.
Meanwhile, EIC sources say Rajendra Kumar Khetan has resigned from the chairman of EIC Board. However, IB sources they do not have any information about it.
EIC CEO Kebal Krishna Shrestha declined to comment saying that is on a leave.
source:republica,6 Oct 2013
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