LocationsBridging the Gaps: Building the Capacity of National Insurance Trainers for Inclusive Access
August 8, 2025
A pioneering effort to reduce Nepal’s protection gap has reached a major milestone this month as UNDP Nepal—through its global Insurance and Risk Finance Facility (IRFF), and in partnership with the Insurance Institute of Nepal (IIN)—concluded a comprehensive four-module capacity-building programme on inclusive insurance.
Launched in December 2024, the initiative brought together 185 participants, including 73 women, from across Nepal’s insurance ecosystem. Its primary goal: to create a strong cohort of national trainers who can drive the development and delivery of customer-centric insurance solutions tailored for Nepal’s underserved and vulnerable populations.
“This training is highly relevant for Nepal, where insurance coverage remains low and millions of people remain exposed to risks without adequate protection,” said UNDP Resident Representative, Kyoko Yokosuka. “Inclusive insurance is both a development imperative and a viable business opportunity for the industry.”
Why Inclusive Insurance Matters for Nepal
In Nepal, insurance penetration remains low. Life insurance coverage—including for migrant workers—is just 44.35%, while overall insurance penetration (measured by gross premiums as a percentage of GDP) stands at 3.4%, far below the global average.
For millions of low-income Nepalis, risks such as health shocks, accidents, crop failure, or extreme weather events can undermine years of progress. Yet, access to risk protection tools and resources remains limited. The IRFF, supported by the German Government, is UNDP’s flagship initiative to address this protection gap through insurance market development in over 30 countries, including Nepal, through policy and regulatory reform, market development, and institutional capacity-building.
UNDP recognizes that inclusive insurance is not just a development priority, it’s also a viable and profitable business opportunity for the insurance industry. It can help expand their reach, enter underserved segments, and diversify their portfolios. Against this background, UNDP has partnered with the Insurance Institute of Nepal (IIN), a public-private organization focused on industry capacity building, to enhance the insurance industry’s capacity in responding to the government’s priorities for market development and consumer protection through a series of trainings.
A Training Journey in Four Acts
As part of this partnership, four training modules have been delivered and attended by a total of 185 participants, including 73 women. Today, participants completed the last module in the series, which focused on building internal capacities and ensuring that the insurance sector can institutionalize inclusive insurance in the long term.
These four modules have covered such themes as:
- Introduction to inclusive insurance and customer-centric product design
- Ensuring customer-centric partnerships and distribution in inclusive insurance
- Ensuring a positive experience through customer-centric marketing, education, servicing, and claims management
- Building the internal capacity to provide inclusive insurance
The sessions combined global insights with Nepal-specific case studies, interactive group work, and practical applications. Participants included national trainers, insurance company representatives, and key stakeholders from across the sector.
“By the final module, we saw remarkable growth in our national trainers—confident, knowledgeable, and ready to lead future trainings independently,” said M.K. Balachandran, the international Master Trainer who guided the program. “Their ability to localize global concepts has been key to the programme’s success.”
Institutionalizing the Gains
This capacity-building program is highly relevant especially as the Nepal Insurance Authority (NIA) is currently undertaking the revision of the Microinsurance Directives and the development of Life Microinsurance Product Directives. The knowledge and insights generated across the four modules will feed directly into regulatory improvements and strengthen the broader enabling environment.
“We now have over ten certified national trainers equipped to lead future trainings. That’s a legacy that will continue to grow,” said Mr. Susil Dev Subedi, Chairman of Insurance Institute of Nepal (IIN) and Executive Director of Nepal Insurance Authority (NIA). “By supporting the design and rollout of high-quality, context-specific training modules, UNDP has equipped us with the tools, knowledge, and certified trainers needed to drive systemic change.”
Encouragingly, the Insurance Institute of Nepal (IIN) has committed to scaling up this training to the provincial level, ensuring that capacity-building reaches beyond Kathmandu and supports decentralized implementation. This is a strong step in advancing inclusive insurance and supporting Nepal’s efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by institutionalizing a sustainable approach, working with UNDP to build long-term capacity within the insurance sector.
A Shared Commitment to Financial Resilience
The success of this programme was made possible by the generous support of the Government of Germany, whose investment has empowered local institutions and unlocked opportunities for deeper financial inclusion. The hope is that the training content and approach will not only improve product design and delivery but also inspire innovation, collaboration, and consumer-first thinking across the sector.
“Inclusive insurance is about putting people at the center,” concluded Mr. Benjamin Seidel, Deputy Head of Mission, German Embassy. “Together with UNDP, Germany remains committed to working alongside IIN, NIA, and the insurance industry to help Nepal build a future where everyone—especially the most vulnerable—can access the protection they need to thrive.”
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