Dhaka, March 13 -- What do you think about Bancassurance? This question was posed by Mr. Gokul Chand Das, member, Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) at the Asia banking and Finance Magazine Awards ceremony in Singapore in July 2018, where Guardian Life won three awards. A very positive discussion ensued during which I offered Guardian's help to IDRA in pursuing this idea.

Subsequently the Guardian Bancassurance team researched Bancassurance regulations across the region and provided IDRA with draft regulations suitable for Bangladesh. In addition to Mr Das, we were also encouraged in our efforts by Mr. Khalil Ahmed, executive director of IDRA now Secretary, Ministry of Cultural Affairs.

In November 2019, we went to se...