Serving a full term as chairman of the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) seems to be a significant challenge, with most appointees failing to complete their three-year tenure. Over the past 13 years, only two chairmen have served their full terms, one of whom did so twice. The rest either resigned prematurely or were replaced by interim leaders from within the organisation.
The latest resignation came from Mohammad Jainul Bari, who stepped down on Wednesday, despite his appointment in June 2022 for a term meant to extend until July 2025. Before this, he was the former secretary to the Planning Division.
His departure follows a pattern, as his predecessor, Dr M Mosharraf Hossain, also resigned before completing his term. This latest resignation occurred amidst widespread reshuffling in top financial institutions, driven by the incumbent interim government’s efforts to address alleged irregularities and corruption in the wake of a shifting political landscape since August 5.
As the leadership turnover continued, the focus was on the IDRA chairmanship, with concerns growing over the stability and effectiveness of its regulatory oversight in the insurance sector.
In mid-August, insurance workers suddenly began protesting outside IDRA's head office, saying that Jainul Bari's appointment of an administrator in Sonali Life Insurance Company Limited led to extensive irregularities and corruption which resulted in the workers receiving neither their salaries nor benefits, sparking mass protests.
Shifted to the court
At that time, IDRA clarified that the administrator appointment process in question, had gone to court, and it was up to the court to decide the matter, with IDRA having no further role in the scandal.
Amid the protests by its employees, IDRA sent some proposals to the Ministry of Finance. Based on these, on September 1, the ministry appointed a new administrator to Sonali Life Insurance, canceling the previous appointment.
Meanwhile, it was observed during an IDRA inspection that former chairman Mohammad Jainul Bari had not been attending his duties for more than 10 days. A senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, mentioned that all scheduled meetings had been cancelled due to the chairman's absence, though some work was still being conducted by him from home.
Amid this situation, on Wednesday (September 4), nearly nine months before the end of his three-year term, Mohammad Jainul Bari resigned from his position.
Jainul's predecessor, M Mosharraf Hossain, initially served as the acting chairman of IDRA for just a month starting on August 26, 2020. Later, the government appointed him as the IDRA chairman from September 27, 2020. As per this appointment, he was supposed to serve until October 2023.
He, however, resigned from the chairman's position 14 months before his term also ended in duress, due to being accused of various allegations. At that time, he was accused of demanding bribes from Delta Life Insurance, an issue that eventually involved the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior official of the Bangladesh Insurance Association (BIA) said that the government appoints the IDRA chairman. If he is involved in any irregularities or corruption, the state will investigate and take necessary action.
Moreover, complaints related to corruption should be investigated by the ACC, which will verify the allegations and then take appropriate action. However, if someone resigns voluntarily, then the government will appoint a new chairman. The matter of a chairman’s tenure is entirely their own, the official said declining to comment further.
Historical slides
Historically, only three chairmen have been able to serve full term. They are M Shefaq Ahmed, an actuary (January 27, 2011, to January 26, 2014), who also served again from April 9, 2014 to April 8, 2017, and Shafiqur Rahman Patwari, who served from August 23, 2017 to August 22, 2020. Although there were various allegations against them as well, they did not step down from the chairmanship.
Over the past 13 years, IDRA has seen a revolving door of temporary leadership. Fazlul Karim served as acting chairman for a brief two months, Kuddus Khan held the position for just one month, and M Mosharraf Hossain also served as acting chairman for a single month.
In 2017, Gokul Chandra Das took on the role temporarily, but his tenure lasted only four months. This pattern of short-lived leadership underscores the ongoing instability within the organisation.
Professor Omar Faruque of the Finance Department at Jagannath University told The Business Post that regulating 84 companies is no small task for a single organisation. “It requires a significant amount of work. Frequent changes in the chairmanship raise concerns about how the sector will develop.”
He suggests that the law may need to be amended and the quality of the companies improved.
“Moreover, the government appoints someone to this position with trust, and it is important to maintain that trust,” said the professor, who holds a PhD in Insurance and Risk Management.
He believes that any allegations against the individual appointees should be thoroughly investigated for the betterment of the insurance sector.
