By Ali Kodar Polash
In a country where many people still hesitate to trust insurance, Sonali Life Insurance Company Limited has quietly become one of the fastest-growing life insurers in Bangladesh. Behind its rise is the legacy of its late founder, industrialist Mostafa Golam Quddus, and a new generation of leadership led by his daughter, Fouzia Kamrul Tania, now a Director of the company.

> “Sonali Life is my father’s dream made real,” Tania says. “He used to tell us, ‘If we cannot protect people’s savings and dreams, we don’t deserve to be in insurance.’ Every time I walk into the boardroom, those words are with me.”
Quddus, known for creating thousands of jobs in the garment sector and for his ventures in insurance, wanted Sonali Life to be a bridge between financial products and ordinary families. Today, his children carry that ambition forward from the boardroom, balancing emotional legacy with hard business decisions.
Growth with pressure: revenue, claims and responsibility
Over the last few years, Sonali Life’s business has expanded rapidly. Premium income and customer numbers have risen sharply, and the company now has a strong footprint across the country.
“From a relatively modest base we have grown several times over in a short period,” Tania notes. “We expanded our branch network, launched new products and started using digital tools more seriously. That has certainly helped our numbers.”
But she is quick to add that growth, by itself, is not enough.
> “We can’t celebrate revenue unless we are equally serious about claims,” she says. “For me, real growth means our claim payments are rising along with our premium income. It means people trusted us in some of the hardest moments of their lives — and we did not let them down.”
Inside the company, this philosophy has turned into an informal rule.
> “If we don’t pay claims, we have no right to talk about growth.”
This rule shapes everything from training field staff to simplifying documentation for beneficiaries in remote villages. Farmers, garments workers and migrant workers’ families are among those who depend on timely claim payments.
> “When a widow tells us, ‘Because of your claim payment I could keep my children in school,’ that is when all the spreadsheets on my desk make sense,” Tania says. “Those are the moments that define what kind of insurer we really are.
“Criticism is not the final word”
Rapid growth and a prominent market position have also brought scrutiny. Over the years, questions have been raised about different aspects of the company, and some matters have travelled through legal and regulatory processes.
Tania does not sidestep this reality.
> “I will never say there are no questions about us,” she admits. “Yes, there have been criticisms and cases. Large institutions always face pressure. What matters is how we respond.”
For her, this phase is a test of corporate maturity.
> “We are using this period to strengthen our governance,” she explains. “We are tightening internal controls, improving audit and compliance, and making our reporting structures more robust. Criticism is not the final word — the final word is what we learn from it and how we change.”
She hopes that, in time, Sonali Life will be cited not only for any controversy it has faced, but also for how it corrected course and moved forward.
Family-led, professionally driven
Sonali Life’s board includes several members of the founder’s family, including Tania and her brother Daniel. Some observers question whether family-led boards can stay objective; Tania believes the model can be a strength when managed well.
> “We don’t look at Sonali Life as a short-term opportunity,” she says. “We are emotionally tied to this name because it carries our father’s legacy. That forces us to think long term. We cannot simply exit if things get difficult.”
At the same time, she insists that decisions are rooted in professional expertise.
> “We rely on experienced actuaries, finance professionals, risk managers and marketers,” she explains. “The formula we believe in is simple:
Family legacy plus professional management equals sustainable growth.”
Awards on the shelf, voices in the village
In recent years, Sonali Life has collected a series of awards and international recognitions praising its performance, customer focus and risk management practices.
> “Awards are an honour,” Tania says. “They tell us we are moving in the right direction. But I always tell my team: ‘Awards come from institutions; real rewards come from people.’”
For her, the most meaningful recognition does not come with a trophy.
> “When a family in a small town says, ‘We actually received our claim from Sonali Life,’ that matters more than a stage photo,” she says. “It means we were present when they needed us, not just in our advertisements.”
The three words shaping the future
Asked how she sees the future of Sonali Life, Tania pauses and then offers three words: digital, transparent, inclusive.
Digital, she explains, is about placing the company’s services directly in customers’ hands.
> “We want people to be able to buy policies, pay premiums, file claims and track everything from their phones,” she says. “Convenience builds trust.”
Transparent refers to the way the company communicates its use of funds and its claim practices.
> “Customers deserve to know, in clear language, where their money goes and how we protect it,” she adds. “Transparency is not a luxury in insurance; it is the foundation of trust.”
Finally, inclusive is about bringing protection to people who need it most but are often left out.
> “Low-income workers, informal sector earners, rural families — they carry the highest risks but have the least coverage,” Tania says. “We want to design products that truly reach them, not just look good in brochures.”
As our conversation ends, she returns once more to her father’s vision.
> “My father wanted ordinary Bangladeshis to believe in insurance again,” she says. “My dream is that when people hear the name Sonali Life, they feel their dreams are protected. We will make mistakes, I’m sure. But we will keep learning, correcting and moving forward. That is my promise.”

Author Profile: Ali Kodar Polash (আলী কদর পলাশ) is a distinguished journalist, editor, and publisher with over three decades of experience in Bangladesh’s newspaper industry. He began his editorial and publishing journey in 1991 by founding the daily newspaper Dainik Mathabhanga in Chuadanga.

On January 1, 1992, he established Ei Amar Desh, which has since evolved from a weekly into a widely recognized daily newspaper. He is also the founder of Dainik Jhenaidah, the first daily newspaper of Jhenaidah district, launched on April 14, 1993, as well as Dainik Adhibeshon.

Currently, he serves as the Chief Editor and CEO of Dainik Mukhaptra, a publication of Diamond World Group. In addition, he contributes to modern journalism and economic analysis through his digital platform The Business In.

His writing is deeply rooted in grassroots journalism, enriched by decades of hands-on experience, which remains the defining strength of his editorial voice.

Editor at  – alikodarpolas@gmail.com – Web

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