CLAIM SETTLEMENT PRACTICES OF LIFE INSURANCE COMPANIES IN NEPAL

Abstract

Claim settlement practice in life insurance has been an exemplary practice in determining existing pattern in Nepal. The present study has attempted to analyze the extent of the contribution made by the institutional mechanism of claim settlement strategies to sustain proper condition and improvement of life insurance practice. The purpose of this study was to explore the knowledge, attitudes and practices of claim settlement strategies from the perspective of sustainable management in order to promote life insurance. A cross-sectional descriptive study was designed to assess the knowledge, attitude and existing practices on claim settlement strategies and life insurance. It was felt that the people in the community have knowledge about life insurance and improvement of claim settlement that is necessary to achieve life insurance in the community. The problem statement of this study was devised to identify the status, impacts, problems and corrective measures about the claim settlement strategies in sustainable manner. Global evidence and research findings have shown that the lives of people are at risk, and vulnerable environment has been existed rural as well as urban regions, and claim settlement issue has been critical to maintain quality life insurance mechanism. In the same time, the practice of claim settlement strategies in Nepal has been recognized as one of the model for claim settlement and its impact is much visible in urban region of Nepal. By reviewing different literatures, thesis, theories, national and international journals related to claim settlement pattern and life insurance strategies of people, the researcher made the study more substantive and authentic by incorporating relevant ideas that the researcher gathered through literature review. The researcher followed quantitative as well as qualitative research design with focus on its descriptive cross 8 sectional and ethnographical premise which encompasses ontological, epistemological and methodological assumptions. The ontological framework for this study subscribes to the notion of multiple realities regarding the issue of claim settlement practices and life insurance. The epistemological assumption dwelt on subjective discourse by research participants. Following the research question, the researcher carried out interview, focus group discussion and field observation with the research participants. By adopting stratified random sampling technique, structured instruments were used to collect the data and analyzed by using descriptive as well as inferential statistical methods. Insurance agents were the main actors of this study. The knowledge, attitude and practices were assessed using semi-structured interview and qualitative data were obtained from focus group discussion.