KARACHI, Aug 31: The National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) launched on Friday a whole package of innovative insurance products that included three schemes for the coverage of risks in rural areas, one for health risks and another for the business that covers travel and terrorism.

“These are landmark achievements in insurance business,’’ the Federal Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar declared while presiding over the ceremony attended by top businessmen and leaders of the insurance industry.

Chairman and Chief Executive of NICL Abid Javed in his speech outlined the main features of the new insurance products that have been designed after study and research in local and foreign markets.

He informed the audience that for obvious reasons, the NICL was not able to find reinsurance backup support for travel and terrorism risk in the country. “Terrorism apprehension has restricted avenues of export promotion and inhibited inflow of foreign investment,’’ he said while declaring that after a detailed study of the issue from all aspects ‘”we decided to assume this risk against our own resources.’’

He said the insurance product offering risk cover for travel and terrorism that offers “realistic level of compensations, no exclusions and at rates which are affordable.’’

The NICL chairman briefly outlined the features of four schemes of micro- insurance that would cover loss of life, health and assets, which he declared “takes care of the risk exposure and economic distress of low income group in a very comprehensive way.’’

He announced that these schemes would be marketed through microfinance agencies. ‘”We will insure the exposure of the loan, which generates the asset for the under-privileged and also take care of it in case of death,’’ he said.

Agricultural crop insurance, he said, is the biggest challenge that was to offer risk cover to more than Rs150 billion annual farm loan disbursements in the country. He announced three products that had fully backup support to the extent of 300 to 500 per cent of premium by top re-insurers of the world. He offered details of reinsurance support for each of these three schemes.

Mr Abid Javed announced that his company was in process of designing more new schemes and products with support of FAO, USDA and Asian Development Bank.