Nepal Life and National Life are the two largest life insurers in Nepal by premiumThe regular payment you make to keep your insurance policy active. Full definition → – together they hold close to two-fifths of the market. They are not the same kind of choice. One is the biggest insurer in the country with the steadier claim figure this year. The other declares the highest endowment bonusExtra money declared annually by the insurer on top of your sum assured. Full definition → in the market and quoted a lower price on its flagship endowment. Which matters more depends on what you are buying the policy to do.
A note on the figures. Claims, life fund and market share come from the Nepal Insurance Authority (NIA) Annual Report for FY 2081/82. The claim ratio is one we derive from the NIA’s published claims-paid and claims-outstanding amounts (paid divided by paid plus outstanding); the NIA does not publish a per-company ratio, and the figure does not count rejected claims. Plan names and bonus rates are each insurer’s own, for FY 2081/82.
The short answer
| If this matters most to you… | Lean toward… |
|---|---|
| The higher derived claim ratio | Nepal Life (90.54% against 84.55%) |
| A claim ratio that rose this year | Nepal Life (up from 90.04%; National Life fell from 93.40%) |
| The higher declared endowment bonus | National Life (Rs. 64 to Rs. 85 against Rs. 60 to Rs. 65 per 1,000) |
| The lower quote on the flagship endowment | National Life (Rs. 46,349 a year against Rs. 51,040, one profile, July 2026 – see section 3) |
| The largest insurer by premium and life fund | Nepal Life (26.48% share, NPR 2.33 kharba) |
| A policy term longer than 30 years | Nepal Life (up to 35 years against 30) |
Side by side
| Nepal Life | National Life | |
|---|---|---|
| Market share (premium) | 26.48% (largest of 14) | 12.36% (second largest) |
| Life fund | NPR 2.33 kharba | NPR 89.91 arba |
| Claim ratio FY 2081/82 (our derived) | 90.54% (rank #9 of 14) | 84.55% (rank #12 of 14) |
| Claim ratio FY 2080/81 (our derived) | 90.04% | 93.40% |
| Claims paid FY 2081/82 | Rs. 1,919.65 crore | Rs. 1,107.13 crore |
| Claims outstanding at year-end | Rs. 200.51 crore | Rs. 202.25 crore |
| Flagship endowment bonus (per 1,000) | Rs. 60 to Rs. 65 | Rs. 64 to Rs. 85 |
| Maximum entry age | 65 years | 65 years |
| Maximum policy term | 35 years | 30 years |
Factor by factor
1. Claim settlement
| Nepal Life | National Life | |
|---|---|---|
| FY 2080/81 (derived) | 90.04% | 93.40% |
| FY 2081/82 (derived) | 90.54% | 84.55% |
| Paid, FY 2081/82 (Rs. crore) | 1,919.65 | 1,107.13 |
| Outstanding, end FY 2080/81 (Rs. crore) | 166.02 | 58.89 |
| Outstanding, end FY 2081/82 (Rs. crore) | 200.51 | 202.25 |
Nepal Life is ahead on this measure, and the gap opened this year. National Life paid more than the year before – Rs. 1,107.13 crore against Rs. 832.82 crore – but its outstanding balance rose from Rs. 58.89 crore to Rs. 202.25 crore, and that is what moved its ratio from 93.40% to 84.55%. The published figures do not say why the balance grew, so it is not, by itself, evidence that claims are refused. It is a fair reason to ask National Life about its current settlement timelines before you buy.
Nepal Life’s 90.54% is itself in the lower half of the table (#9 of 14). It pays more in claims than any other insurer – Rs. 1,919.65 crore in FY 2081/82 – and carries about Rs. 201 crore outstanding at year-end, almost the same amount as National Life on a much larger book.
Read the ratio for what it is. It is amount-based, so it is a share of rupees, not a count of families paid. It is a snapshot on the last day of the fiscal year, so a claim still inside its legal processing window sits in “outstanding” and pulls the number down. And it leaves out rejected claims altogether. Our claim settlement ratios guide prints both inputs for all 14 insurers.
2. Bonus rates – compare the plan, not the company
| Nepal Life | National Life | |
|---|---|---|
| Flagship endowment | Sunaulo Bhabisya | Jeewan Shree Amrit |
| Endowment bonus (per 1,000) | Rs. 60 to Rs. 65 | Rs. 64 to Rs. 85 |
| Whole-life plan | Anmol Jeevan (endowment plus whole life) | Jeevan Amrit |
| Whole-life bonus (per 1,000) | Rs. 60 to Rs. 82 | Rs. 64 to Rs. 85 |
| Money-back plan | Naulo Dhanbarsha | Amrit Barsaha Money Back |
| Money-back bonus (per 1,000) | Rs. 56 | Rs. 63 to Rs. 64 |
National Life declares the higher rate on each of these three lines, and its endowment range is the highest of any of the 14 insurers. Two cautions keep that in proportion. The plans differ in term, premium-paying period and structure, so the rows are not like for like. And a bonus is declared year by year from the insurer’s results – a past rate is not a promise. Our bonus rates guide lists the declared rates for all 14.
3. Price – one measured example
We read both insurers’ own online calculators in July 2026 for the same profile: age 35, a 20-year term, Rs. 10 lakh sum assuredThe coverage amount your family receives on death — or you receive at maturity. Full definition →, yearly premium, no riders. Nepal Life’s Sunaulo Bhabisya quoted Rs. 51,040 a year. National Life’s Jeewan Shree Amrit quoted Rs. 46,349.
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Find My Plan →That is one profile on one day, for two plans that are not identical, and insurers count age slightly differently (last or next birthday), so treat it as an illustration and not a verdict. Your own figure depends on your age, term and sum assured – the premium calculator estimates all 14 insurers for your inputs.
4. Entry age, term and riders
Both accept adult entry up to age 65. Nepal Life writes terms up to 35 years; National Life up to 30. Both list accident, critical illness and disability riders on at least one plan, both allow a policy loan and both build a surrender valueThe amount you get back if you cancel your policy early. Full definition →. On these points there is little to separate them unless you want a term beyond 30 years.
Which buyer should lean which way
Lean toward Nepal Life if:
- The claim figure matters most to you – it is higher (90.54% against 84.55%) and rose this year
- You want the largest insurer in the market by premium and life fund
- You want a policy term longer than 30 years
Lean toward National Life if:
- Bonus is central to your plan – its endowment range (Rs. 64 to Rs. 85 per 1,000) is the highest declared for FY 2081/82
- A lower premium on the flagship endowment matters, and you have checked the quote for your own profile
- You are comfortable weighing that against a claim ratio that fell this year, and have asked about settlement timelines
The bottom line
This is not a good insurer against a bad one. It is the larger book and the steadier claim figure against the higher declared bonus and the lower measured price. Decide which of those you are buying for, then put both side by side in Compare Plans with your own age, sum assured and term – and look at the other twelve while you are there.
Data sources: NIA Annual Report FY 2081/82, Schedules 14 (claims paid) and 15 (claims outstanding), for claims; the same report for market share and life fund. The report’s own footnotes mark the FY 2081/82 figures as unaudited. The claim ratio is our own amount-based derivation. Bonus rates are each insurer’s declared FY 2081/82 rates per Rs. 1,000 sum assured; a bonus is declared year by year and is not guaranteed. The premium figures are quotes read from each insurer’s own online calculator in July 2026 for one profile, shown for illustration only – they are not an offer, and the two plans differ in structure. Full disclaimer.