Competition is brewing up for the Rastriya Beema Sansthan and the National Life and General Insurance Company, the two companies that have so far monopolised the life insurance market in Nepal. The Insurance Board has received applications from four organisations seeking permission to set up life insurance companies. These four are besides the American Life Insurance Company (ALICO), which has already been given the go-ahead to open a Nepal branch. (Its entry has, however, been delayed due to a case filed by a group of Nepali lawyers with the Supreme Court arguing that ALICO is not a Nepali company.)

The four new applicants are Nepal Life Insurance Company Ltd, Laxmi Life Insurance Company Ltd, Kantipur Life Insurance Company Ltd and Global Life Insurance Company Ltd. Among them, Nepal Life Insurance has already been approved for licensing.

Nepal's insurance market is growing by about Rs 40-50 million annually, says Laba Raj Sharma, chairman of the Insurance Board. A study conducted by the Board shows that there is room for five more companies to join the life insurance business apart from the two already operating. Nepal has an eligible but uninsured population of about 11.7 million people, of whom less than two percent of the eligible population is insured.