Kathmandu, March 29
Nepal Insurance Companies’ Association appears a divided house with its vice-president, Shekhar Baral, resigning his post, accusing president Bijaya Shah of taking institutional decisions without consulting other office-bearers.
Baral told Onlinekhabar that he called it quits after the association decided to increase surveyors’ fees without consulting association members.
“The association has given a huge hike to surveyors without consulting members,” Baral, CEO of United Insurance, said, adding: I resigned my post as my conscience did not allow me to remain in the position, in a setting where decision are made without giving a thought on the consequences.
Vice-president Baral had written a note of dissent at Sunday’s meeting of the association that decided to give the surveyors a hike. Baral was elected to the post about a year ago and called it quits this Sunday.
The association has hiked the fees of the surveyors, who have to travel 35 kilometres out of the Kathmandu Valley to prepare field reports, by 66 per cent. Earlier, a surveyor used to get Rs 1,500 daily for this task. Now, s/he will get Rs 2,500. The association has hiked other fees by 50 per cent.
Shah, on his part, said the association had decided to hike surveyors’ fees on the basis of an understanding. “No one opposed the decision at the meeting and there’s no reason to do so,” he said.
But CEOs of some insurance agencies have accused Shah, chair of NLG Insurance, Dipak Prakash Pandey, CEO of Shikhar Insurance, Sudhyumna Upadhyaya, CEO of Premier Insurance and Yugesh Bhakta Bade Shrestha, CEO of NB Insurance, of hiking surveyors’ fees without discussing the matter with them.
KB Basnet, CEO of Sagarmatha Insurance, said they held initial discussions on increasing the surveyors’ fees, but, in the end, three-four people decided to hike the fees in a hush-hush manner.
Ashok Khadka, adviser to Neco Insurance, expressed surprise over the unilateral decision to hike the surveyors’ fees.
Sanchit Bajracharya, CEO of Prabhu Insurance, said he did not attend Sunday’s meeting.
Dipak Prakash Pandey, CEO of Shikhar Insurance, pointed that surveyors’ fees had not been hiked for three-four years, despite the provision to hike the fees every two years.
“This (the decision to hike surveyors’ fees) is a regular process and I don’t think we should make it an issue,” he said.
Sudhyumna Upadhyaya, CEO of Premier Insurance, also said this (the fee-hike decision) is a non-issue.
