Nepal Unveils Wildlife Risk Insurance Policy Amid Rising Human-animal Conflict
KATHMANDU, July 17 (NNN-Xinhua) -- Nepal's insurance regulator has paved the way for insurers to introduce an insurance product that provides financial protection against human casualties and property losses caused by wild animals, reported Xinhua.
The move by the Nepal Insurance Authority (NIA) marks the first time the South Asian nation has created a framework for insurance coverage against damage to people and property caused by wildlife, local media reported on Friday.
Under the Wildlife Risk Insurance Policy, individuals can obtain insurance protection up to 1 million Nepalese rupees (US$6,474) by paying an annual premium of 1,500 Nepalese rupees, according to the policy rules introduced by the NIA on Friday.
"Based on the rules set by the NIA, insurance companies can develop insurance products under this scheme and offer them to customers," a senior NIA official told Xinhua.
According to the NIA, the scheme covers damage caused by wildlife, including elephants, rhinoceroses, tigers, bears, leopard species, jackals, deer species, wolves, wild dogs, wild boars, wild buffaloes, crocodiles, gaurs (Indian bison), pythons, blue bulls, monkeys, porcupines, and blackbucks.
The regulator's move comes at a time when Nepal's success in reversing deforestation and significantly increasing forest cover has been accompanied by a rise in human-wildlife conflict.
According to the World Bank, Nepal increased its forest cover from 29 per cent in 1994 to more than 46 per cent in 2022, largely through community-based forest management. While this has been a major conservation success, it has also increased the vulnerability of people living near forests to wildlife attacks.
According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, Nepal recorded 181 wildlife attack incidents during the final three months of fiscal year 2025-26, which ended on Thursday. The attacks killed 17 people, injured 103 others, and affected 287 families.
--NNN-XINHUA
TAGS: nepal, insurance policy, wildlife risk
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