Insurance Companies Ordered to Shut Down ‘Double Servers’ Within Six Weeks

The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) has ordered insurance companies to shut down any secret or additional “double servers” within six weeks and consolidate all company data to ensure greater transparency.

IDRA Chairman Mir Nadia Nivin warned that strict legal action would be taken against companies that fail to comply.

Speaking at the opening of a workshop organized by the Insurance Reporters Forum (IRF) at the Bangladesh Academy for Rural Development (BARD) in Cumilla on Friday (August 28), she said information submitted by some companies to regulators does not always reflect their actual financial and operational condition.

She warned that even if companies attempt to hide servers in places such as garages or under beds, regulators would identify them.

The IDRA chairman also announced several upcoming reforms:

• Risk-based supervision in the insurance sector is expected to be introduced by December.
• A unified “Unique Policy ID” is expected to be launched within three to four months.
• Starting next week, the authorities will begin paying outstanding customer claims at several financially distressed insurance companies using proceeds from the sale and liquidation of their assets. Seven to eight companies will be included in the first phase.
• IDRA will work jointly with Bangladesh Bank, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) and the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) to prevent companies from concealing information.
• Legal action will be taken directly against officials or companies if allegations of bribery within IDRA are proven.

The measures are intended to improve data transparency, regulatory oversight and customer protection in Bangladesh's insurance sector.