Insurance grievances on the rise in North

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Chandigarh, Nov 4 : With an increase in the volume of business in insurance sector, the number of complaints lodged before the Insurance Ombudsman of Chandigarh region has also surged over in last five years. The Ombudsman which caters to Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir witnessed an increase of complaints from 854 in 2006-07 to 1203 in the 2007-08.

Highest number of complaints was received from Punjab followed by Haryana and UT as these accounted for about 90% of the total complaints.

These complaints pertained to disputes in regard to partial or total repudiation of claims by an insurer, delay in settlement of claims, disputes in regard to premiums paid or payable in terms of the policy and non-issue of documents to customers after receipt of premium.

Talking to FE, Insurance Ombudsman of Chandigarh circle, K M Chadha said, “Maximum number of grievances pertains to delay and the complainants feel harassed with lackadaisical attitude of most of the insurers. Many complainants have also complained that mostly insurance companies don't provide adequate information when they sell their policies. Besides this despite orders passed by the Ombudsman in some cases, complaints of similar nature are registered against the same insurer time and again. This shows that the awards are not seriously examined by the insurer at the macro level to bring the required systematic improvements. However the awareness level of people about this forum is quite high in this region as compared to other states”.

He said that orders passed by the Ombudsman need to be examined and discussed at appropriate levels.

Though most of the complaints were against public sector insurance companies but grievances against private insurance companies were also on the rise. Out of the total 1203 complaints, 901 complaints were against the public insurance companies and 302 complaints were lodged against private insurers.