The government is preparing to triple the insurance coverage for road accident victims in case of death to Rs1.5 million. Shiva Hari Sapkota, spokesperson for the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, said the government was likely to enforce the increased compensation amount from the next fiscal year.

“We are making the necessary arrangements to raise the coverage amount because the existing compensation amount is very low, and the number of road fatalities is going up,” Sapkota said.

Currently, four-wheeler and two-wheeler passengers receive up to Rs500,000 in case of death in a road accident. The provision is also applicable to pillion passengers on two-wheelers.

The compensation amount for injury caused by a road accident is a maximum of Rs300,000. As per ministry officials, the government is planning to increase the cover against injury to up to Rs700,000.

“Under the proposed insurance coverage regulation, the cover against serious injury like head injury or spinal injury has been increased to Rs1.5 million,” the source said. The ministry said the new provision aimed to provide relief to victims of auto accidents which are on a rising trend.

According to the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division, 6,381 accidents were registered in the Kathmandu Valley in 2017-18.

Among them, 4,065 cases involved two-wheelers.

In fiscal 2016-17, there were 5,530 road accidents including 3,349 involving two-wheelers.

Raju Raman Paudel, officiating executive director of the Insurance Board, said they conducted several rounds of consultations with the ministry in this regard. “As soon as we receive an official letter from the ministry, we will revise the related policy and guidelines to reflect the government’s decision,” said Paudel.

Two years ago, the Insurance Board raised the insurance coverage amount for road accident victims in case of death to Rs500,000 from Rs100,000. Paudel said the number of fake claims under third-party insurance had come down significantly after the board enforced a comprehensive policy two years ago.

According to him, the board will fix the insurance premium for the increased coverage after the government reaches a decision.