Nepal insurers face record NPR 21 billion claims after Gen-Z protests caused widespread property damage.
Kathmandu: The destruction of properties during the recent Gen-Z protests in Nepal has triggered the largest-ever insurance claims in the country’s history from a single incident. Claims have already reached close to NPR 21 billion, according to official data.
The Nepal Insurance Authority, the regulator of the insurance sector, revealed on Thursday that non-life insurers received 1,984 claims amounting to NPR 20.7 billion by September 16. This marks a record high for damages arising from a single event.
Higher than earthquake and COVID-19 claims
The authority said the figure has already exceeded the NPR 16.5 billion claimed during the 2015 earthquake. It has also overtaken claims linked to the COVID-19 insurance scheme launched in 2020, when insurers had received claims worth over NPR 16 billion.
With assessments of losses still underway, officials expect the total claims to rise further.
Oriental Insurance tops claim list
The Oriental Insurance Company Limited, the Nepal branch of India’s Oriental Insurance, has received the largest amount of claims so far. As of September 16, the company had received NPR 5.14 billion across 40 cases.
A bulk of this came from Hotel Hilton Kathmandu, which was among the worst-hit properties during the protests.
Other insurers and enterprises hit
Siddhartha Premier Insurance, Shikhar Insurance, IGI Prudential Insurance, and Sagarmatha Lumbini and Company ranked among the top five insurers receiving the highest claims.
An official from the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI), a business body, said that some major enterprises alone have reported damages worth over NPR 60 billion. The CNI is currently collecting details of losses to private sector properties.
Major properties gutted
The protests left several high-value assets gutted by fire. These included the Hilton Kathmandu Hotel, multiple outlets of Bhat-Bhateni Supermarket, the headquarters of Ncell, an assembly plant and vehicle showroom of Chaudhary Group—owned by Binod Chaudhary, Nepal’s only billionaire listed by Forbes.
Published: 19 Sept 2025, 06:34 am IST
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