The Karnali Provincial Government has extended the agreement for the 'Group Accident Insurance against Disaster Risk' program implemented to address the loss of life and property due to disasters.

According to the 'Group Accident Insurance against Disaster Risk Program Operation Procedure, 2081' approved by the Provincial Government's Council of Ministers, an insurance agreement has been signed between the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers and the National Insurance Company Limited for a period of one year.

It is stated that a new agreement has been made on the basis of the agreement previously signed between the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers, Birendranagar, Surkhet and the National Insurance Company on 1 Asoj 2076. This insurance agreement for damage caused by natural disasters has been renewed for a period of one year, effective from 30 Baisakh 2083. The agreement has been signed by Deputy Secretary Uttam Gautam on behalf of the Chief Minister's Office and Co-Manager Dambardev Adhikari on behalf of the National Insurance Company.

This insurance policy, which will be operated according to the procedure, covers 16,88,412 people of Karnali Province. The insurance premium per person has been fixed at Rs. 200,000. The provincial government will pay the insurance premium at the rate of Rs. 9.33 per person per year. Accordingly, the total insurance premium will be Rs. 15,752,904, which will be paid by the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers.

According to the agreement, the families of people who died due to natural disasters will be able to claim insurance. It has been arranged that an application should be submitted within 35 days of the incident. If the claim cannot be made within the specified period, a provision has been made to claim within 180 days with the recommendation of the concerned office, district administration office or local level, explaining the reason for the delay.

To get the insurance facility, one must be a permanent resident of Karnali Province or residing in Karnali Province. In addition, permanent citizens of Karnali who die due to natural disasters anywhere in the country will also be covered under this scheme. Even if they are citizens of other provinces, Nepali citizens working in government, non-government or other sectors within Karnali province have also been included in the insurance program.

The insurance will cover deaths due to natural disasters such as snowfall, hail, avalanches, glacial lake eruptions, earthquakes, floods and submersion, landslides, landslides, inundation, windstorms, storms, cold waves, heat waves, lightning, fires, wild animal attacks, falling from cliffs, falling stones, drowning in rivers or streams or being swept away. Earlier, there was no issue of death due to wild animal attacks, falling from cliffs, falling from rocks, drowning in rivers or streams. These provisions have been implemented from this time.

To facilitate the insurance claim process, the company will have to arrange for one representative to be deployed in each district of Karnali. The representatives will be given the responsibility of collecting the necessary documents from the scene of the incident. Similarly, the company will have to conduct an effective awareness program to inform the public about the insurance program, and the provincial government will also emphasize publicity.

The agreement states that the company should develop a mechanism to coordinate between the office, company and beneficiaries to make the payment process of the insured simple and effective. The recommendation and documents of the local level will be accepted as evidence while paying the insurance amount.