KARACHI: The Chief Minister of Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, has said that the provincial government is working to launch several insurance programs in association with the private sector in order to extend financial coverage. The declaration was made by the chief minister at the 1st IAP & PSOA International Insurance Conference 2026 as chief guest on Tuesday.

Sindh's Strategy for Extending Insurance

The plan was elucidated by the chief minister whereby the Sindh province is going to launch several insurance schemes in order to develop its insurance industry by employing government policies. The key among these policies is lowering the tax rates and provision of enough funds for paying insurance premiums.

However, Shah stated that Sindh is the first province in Pakistan to launch third party mandatory insurance for vehicles, which has been developed with the aim of providing compensation to the victims of road accidents. In this regard, under the current scheme, families get a sum of Rs700,000 in case of death, whereas permanent injury victims get Rs500,000.

More Accidental Death Insurance Packages To Be Introduced Soon

In the same vein, according to Shah, Sindh intends to launch several new insurance packages which would cover many more areas of public hazards. For instance, at present, the provincial government is preparing an insurance package which would offer Rs100,000 of accidental death insurance to all citizens who are 18 years or older.

Further, the chief minister went on to reveal that the province also plans some more insurance schemes for its health and agriculture sectors.

Support by Federal Government for Agricultural Finance

The Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Trade Rana Ahsan Afzal Khan emphasized this point from a federal perspective as well, emphasizing that the government is attempting to improve its agricultural finance programs through new additions that would help protect the agriculture industry of the country.

Khan further highlighted the potential use of micro-insurance services via mobile phones owing to the large number of users of mobiles in the country, which would make insurance services much more available and affordable to poor sections of society. There is also a need to form a joint committee that addresses the regulatory barriers facing the industry.

Economic Opportunity Provided by Increased Insurance Penetration

The Adviser to the Ministry of Finance and Revenue, Adnan Pasha, pointed out the extent of economic opportunity associated with the development of this industry. According to him, if the insurance penetration was increased to 2 percent of the GDP through doubling its value, the increase in economic activities would be counted in billions of rupees.

In addition to this, Pasha stated that the government has already initiated several projects in various sectors, such as agriculture, housing, SMEs, and even electric vehicles. According to him, these projects will lead to stimulation of the economy through creation of wealth and will eventually result in the growth of allied sectors as well, especially the insurance sector. Moreover, the current under-penetration of insurance in Pakistan can be attributed to the lack of public awareness and distribution network.

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Unexplored Potential Noted by Industry Leaders

Shoaib Javed Hussain, chairman of Insurance Association of Pakistan (IAP), shed more light on the potential areas for growth. As per the information provided by him, the insurance-to-GDP ratio of Pakistan is 0.9 percent against the average regional economies’ ratio of 4 percent and 6 percent for the developed nations.

The insurance density for Pakistan was stated to be only $14 per capita, which is very low as compared to the global average of around $60 per capita. Instead of considering this situation as a problem, Hussain described Pakistan’s low insurance penetration as an unexplored area of opportunity.

International Conference on Pakistan’s Insurance Industry – A Milestone Event

Over 500 delegates of the insurance industry, including actuaries, regulators, policymakers, and foreign delegates, came together on July 21 in Karachi for an international insurance conference. This conference has been dubbed as “Pakistan’s biggest ever international insurance conference,” organized jointly by Insurance Association of Pakistan (IAP) and Pakistan Society of Actuaries (PSOA).