Automation in insurance sector can change its present landscape though widening its coverage, a senior official has said.
It will also ensure transparency and accountability on the one of the key financial fronts, he added.
Automation would help facilitate mobile financial system in the country which ultimately expands insurance coverage, said Financial Institutions Division secretary Md Ashadul Islam.
He made the observations as the chief guest at a programme to launch the country's largest insurance reform project on Wednesday.
The World Bank (WB) and the government of Bangladesh are jointly funding the project, 'Bangladesh Insurance Sector Development Project', which will end in 2022.
The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) hosted the event at a city hotel with IDRA chairman Md Shafiqur Rahman Patwari in the chair.
Acting country director of the WB office in Dhaka was the guest of honour at the function which was also attended by key insurance stakeholders.
Mr Islam said the International Development Association (IDA) of the WB-funded project will make the sector vibrant in the next five years.
The IDA focuses on deploying automation system in the insurance sector, he mentioned.
He said the project will invest 66 per cent of its total outlay of Tk 6.32 billion to improve IT [information technology] infrastructure of the sector.
The sector can contribute to eradicating poverty to a large extent, said Mr Islam whose division is the controlling the insurance sector.
"The number-one goal of the SDGs (sustainable development goals) is to reduce poverty and this is one of the effective tools to do so," he added.
Addressing the function, the WB official said the insurance sector is much potential in Bangladesh as its large population remained out of its coverage.
The per-capita insurance premium is amounting to $3.0 here which one of the lowest in the world, he stated.
The official highlighted four possible reasons behind the scenes in Bangladesh: people do not know about insurance, their limited access to policies, they do not know about right policy and they lack awareness about the insurance risk coverage.
Project director Md Nayeb Ali Mondol said the scheme will strengthen IDRA, Sadharan Bima Corporation (SBC), Jiban Bima Corporation (JBC) and Bangladesh Insurance Academy.
He hoped that it would help improve awareness among the people.
IDRA member Gokul Chand Das made an address of welcome at the function.
Team leader of the project Serap Oguz Gonulal of the WB, additional secretary Mahmuda Begum, Bangladesh Insurance Association (BIA) president Sk Kabir Hossain, SBC chairman Prof Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam and JBC chairman also spoke.
The project aims to strengthen IDRA, Bangladesh Insurance Academy, JBC and SBC.
It will enable IDRA and BIA to perform their activities in better way through setting up robust IT infrastructure and adopting world-class techniques.
The project will help JBC and SBC run in a commercial manner through upgrading their operational techniques and adopting IT facilities prescribed by the WB.
