Finally an easy solution for all your insurance complaints

Dear Viewers,

Happy customers are the key ingredient for a successful recipe for all companies; the same holds true for the insurance industry. If a policyholder is unhappy either with the service that he gets from the insurance company, or with the product itself, or for any other reason; then his grievances must be tended to with utmost priority. This is the idea behind implementing an Integrated Grievance Management System (IGMS).

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is the monitoring body of all insurance companies in India and for this reason, it is often referred to as the watchdog. In short, what the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is to banks, IRDA is to Insurance Companies. It governs both Non-Life, which includes health insurance, travel insurance, motor insurance, home insurance etc, and Life Insurance Companies; and looks after the interest of the insurance industry as a whole.

Keeping policyholders’ interests in mind, the regulator has devised IGMS, which is a gateway for aggrieved customers to register complaints with insurance companies first and if need be escalate them to the IRDA Grievance Cells.

A comprehensive solution, IGMS provides online and centralized access to policyholders; while at the same time providing complete access and control to IRDA for monitoring market conduct issues of which policyholder grievances are the main indicators. This system will enable real time access to all users at all times and from any location.

The data capturing mechanism works in such a way that it can record all complaints received via email form, physical form or voice calls. IRDA has a dedicated toll free number 155255 for policyholders to register complaints. Customers can also send a written complaint to:

Consumer affairs Department,
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority,
9th Floor, United Towers, Basheer bagh,
Hyderabad -500 029
Fax 91 – 40 - 66789768

Alternatively, policyholders can write an email on complaints@irda.gov.in

How does the grievance mechanism work?
. A policyholder needs to login in to www.igms.irda.gov.in and create a profile for registering a complaint.

. Policyholders can register one or more complaints.
. Details of the complaint are passed on to respective insurance company or companies.
. While registering the complaint, the policyholder will get a list of branch offices of the insurance company.
. A confirmation email along with IRDA token no is sent to the customer, which will be used by IRDA and Insurance Company for tracking of the complaint through IGMS.
. If the complainant is not satisfied with the resolution provided by Insurer, he can escalate the complaint for a review by IRDA for a potential violation of Regulations.
. All the transactions between the Insurer, Insured and Remarks by IRDA are visible to the complainant.

The entire process will have specified turnaround times as mandated by the regulator and hence customers will get a response with the stipulated time frame. IGMS will help address the needs of thousands of dissatisfied or aggrieved customers, while at the same time ensure that insurance companies provide an appropriate solution.
....EDITOR

""IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR ALL L.I.C. POLICY HOLDERS ""

DEAR VIEWERS,

LIC of India has made an important announcement for all its policyholders and beneficiaries in newspapers and on its website.
To increase security and privacy of the policy money, and to speed up the credit process, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) will be crediting all payments directly to the policyholder’s bank account. Payments include Maturity Benefit, Survival Benefit, Surrender Benefit, Pensions; Money on Group Schemes, Loans etc. LIC has requested all its Policyholders / Master Policy holders / Annuitants / Claimants to submit their bank account details.  LIC customers can give their bank details for electronic payments by filling a NEFT mandate form or Pension and Group Schemes(P&GS) mandate form. Please click here for NEFT Form or P&GS Form Electronic Mode of Payment is a nationwide system operated by Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and is used to transfer funds from one bank account to another.
Advantages of Electronic Mode of Payment for LIC Customers: . No extra charge to the policyholder . Money credited to bank account on the same day of the due date irrespective of the    location . Alert via SMS or email by the bank on transfer of funds . Every payment will have a Unique Identity No (UID) to track the transaction
. If there is any problem in transfer process, policyholder can confirm with their bank using the UID no After filling the form, customers must submit it at any branch office servicing at least one of the policy / policies listed in the mandate.
Pension and Group Scheme master policyholders/ beneficiaries/ annuitants are requested to complete the mandate form and hand them over to the servicing P&GS Unit.
Please also note LIC office address:
Life Insurance Corporation of India,
Central Office, Yogakshema, Jeevan Bima Marg,
P.O. Box No. 19953,
Mumbai - 400021 Email id: co_crm@licindia.com

This new payment process will be effective from October 1st, 2011 and is in accordance with the transparency drive of Government of India.

......EDITOR

General Insurance market to reach Rs 90000 crore by 2015

Dear Viewers,

Driven by an increase in demand, by the year 2015, non-life insurance or general insurance market is estimated to grow at over 18% to Rs 90,000 crore from the current level of Rs 47,000 crore, Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) said in its press release.

India will be one of the fastest growing markets in Asia and globally – next only to China among major markets.

Motor insurance will continue to remain the largest category, contributing over 40 per cent of industry premiums. India will become the third largest car market globally by 2020 with over 70 lakh cars sold annually, driving growth in motor insurance.

On the other hand, total expenditure on healthcare will be Rs 20 lakh crore, creating significant opportunities for coverage through health insurance.

D S Rawat, Secretary General, ASSOCHAM said, “The health insurance segment will grow the fastest and account for close to 30 per cent of total industry premiums by 2015.”

Within health insurance, government sponsored health schemes will grow the fastest while retail will emerge as the largest opportunity, he added.

India’s infrastructure expenditure over the next five years is likely to be Rs 47 lakh crore, creating opportunities for insuring these projects. Engineering insurance coverage for new projects will be an important area of growth, leading to opportunities in segments like commercial lines.

With small and medium enterprises growing at 20 to 22 per cent, the non-life insurance market will be particularly attractive for players who can bring in skills and more innovative practices to capture the opportunities.

An increase in penetration rate from 30 per cent to some 50 per cent in 2014-15 across large (about 10,000 customers with premiums in the range of Rs 10 lakh to 25 lakh), medium (80,000 customers with Rs 1 lakh to 10 lakh premiums) and small (102 lakh customers with less than Rs 1 lakh premiums) bases in the SME segment will drive a 2.5 times increase in premiums.

There is already evidence of increasing competition with the number of companies increasing from 16 in 2007 to 24 this year and further four to five in the pipeline, said ASSOCHAM.
....EDITOR

‘Retirement Age 62’ Kerala Government considers raising retirement age

Dear Viwers,

Cabinet Sub-Committee on raising of Retirement age and Right to Service Act

Government have constituted a Cabinet Sub-Committee to discuss with the Service Organisations and others on raising of Retirement age and on the implementation of Right to Service Act.

FOR More information to know, download the Notification – GO(Ms) No.347/2011 /Fin Dated 17/08/2011

.......EDITOR

SBI Life Insurance fined Rs 70 lakh for violation of IRDA rules

Dear Viewers,

SBI Life Insurance Company, the country’s largest private insurer has been slapped with a penalty of Rs 70 lakh by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) for gross violations of Guidelines on Group Insurance Policies.

According to the insurance regulator, SBI Life made unauthorized payments up to Rs 204 crore to six master policyholders and eight corporate agents. The six master policyholders are The Federal Bank - Rs 3.34 crore, United Bank of India - Rs 3.04 crore, Union Bank of India - Rs 6.13 crore, Sundaram Home Finance - Rs 1.56 crore, Dewan Housing Finance Corporation - Rs 4.26 crore and Kerala Transport Development Finance Corporation- Rs 316,029.
Out of the total sum of Rs 204 crore, Rs 186 crore was paid to 8 different State Banks - State Bank of India - Rs 127 crore, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur - Rs 8.44 crore, State Bank of Hyderabad - Rs 13.25 crore, State Bank of Indore - Rs 3.69 crore, State Bank of Saurashtra - Rs 3.31 crore, State Bank of Tranvancore - Rs 16.12 crore, State Bank of Mysore - Rs 8.28 crore and State Bank of Patiala - Rs 5.56 crore.

As per IRDA guidelines, insurance companies are barred from making payments in excess of the approved commission to any corporate agents. The payments made by SBI Life Insurance are in contravention of these rules.

In its defence, SBI Life Insurance said that these rules were issued in July 2005 and they took some time to redesign their policies. This revised policy was approved by IRDA in November 2007. IRDA has given SBI Life the benefit of doubt for the payments that were made by the insurer prior to November 2007, but the insurer has made several payments even after this date. The IRDA has thus ordered SBI life to pay a fine of Rs 5 lakh for each of the 14 offences, totaling to Rs 70 lakh.

....... EDITOR

PSUs ordered to provide customers with list of hospitals not covered under cashless mediclaim

Dear Viewrs,

Many a times policyholders get medical treatment from a hospital of their choice or convenience. Public sector insurance companies (PSUs) have a tie-up with certain hospitals that feature in their Preferred Provider Network (PPN). These hospitals offer cashless mediclaim facility to policyholders however, there are many hospitals which are not under the PPN and the expenses on treatment have to be borne by the policyholder.

Under the Right to Information Act (RTI), the Central Information Commision (CIC) has directed the four PSUs - New India Assurance Company, United India Insurance Company, Oriental Insurance Company, and National Insurance Company, to provide names of all hospitals that are not in their PPN list. Along with the names, these insurers will also have to specify the reasons for taking these hospitals off their list.

The order was passed after an RTI activist Chetan Kothari filed an application with Public Information Office (PIO) of New India Assurance Company, last year. On receiving the application, instead of giving a reply, after a delay of 30 days, the PIO transferred his query to the first appellate authority. The appellate authority directed the PIO to provide Chetan Kothari with the information, which was not acted upon. Following this, Mr Kothari filed a second appeal before CIC, against New India for not providing the names of hospitals.

On July 27, 2011, CIC Information Commissioner Deepak Sandhu said, this information needs to be disclosed as the person may have taken a mediclaim policy on the assumption that, the cashless facility will be made available to him or her in all hospitals that feature on the list provided by the company. He also added that the insurance company's obligation is not reduced in anyway in terms of the amount of premium required to be collected from the policy holder. Whereas, the insurance company, in a non-transparent fashion, reduced the facility that was available to the appellant (policy holder) at the point of taking the mediclaim policy by taking off some of the hospitals from their list of hospitals providing cashless facility.

....... EDITOR

New Insurance Scheme launched for NRI Customers

Dear Viewers,

Oriental Insurance Company has teamed up with Federal Bank to extend a new insurance scheme ‘Fed Oriental Pravasi Insurance’ to its Non-resident Indian or NRI customers.

Kerala-based Federal Bank will now offer this unique insurance scheme to new NRI customers

 which will cover their hospitalisation expenses. Under Fed Oriental Pravasi Insurance scheme, the insured person can avail cashless treatment in over 3000 hospitals across the country. Overseas treatment of up to Rs 75,000, in recognized hospitals, is also one of the benefits offered under this scheme.

The plan will be available to all NRI customers who maintain a minimum bank balance of Rs 5,000 or more. It will ensure that the medical expenses are taken care of in case the insured person meets with an accident. Oriental Insurance Company would also pay economy class airfare for a dependent or a bystander along with that of the patient, in case of an accident.

Moreover it will also take care of repatriation costs. Medical floater cover for the family members is available in the event of death or disability of the insured for Rs 10 lakhs.
.... EDITOR

Insurance scheme to help students get uninterrupted education

Dear Members & Viewers,

Students face a big challenge in completing their education in case of death of the head of the family or their financial provider. To ensure that such students complete their education without any interruption, the Maharasthra Government is working on an insurance scheme for students pursuing higher and technical education courses.

Commenting on this, Rajesh Tope, Higher and Technical Education Minister said that the scheme will be applicable to all professional degree and diploma courses like MBA, hotel management, engineering, pharmacy, that fall under the purview of his ministry.

Giving details of this insurance scheme, he added, "In case of death of a student's guardian or the head of the family, Rs 4.5 lakh will be given, whereas, in case of the death of a student, the family will get Rs 1 lakh."

Once the scheme is introduced, a nominal insurance premium will have to be paid by the students or the college itself can pay for it from their 'Students Welfare Fund' to Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC).

......EDITOR

AIIEA opposing the LIC Amendment Bill and Insurance Laws Bill

Dear Viwers & Members,

All-India Insurance Employees Association (AIIEA) is clearly not in favour of the proposed LIC Amendment Bill (2009) and Insurance Laws Ammendment Bill (2008), as they have asked the government to withdraw the same.

According to AIIEA General Secretary K Venugopal, the amendment foresees permits raising the FDI limit in the insurance sector. Speaking to reporters, he said that every year, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) mobilizes premiums of Rs 2.5 lakh crore which was the savings of the people and it was going to be placed in the hands of foreign capital, where even the government would have less control.

Currently the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is capped at 26%. The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008 has been long pending in the parliament. The Insurance Bill has been awaiting approval from the Parliament and proposes to raise the cap on FDI from 26% to 49%.

They have asked the Centre to withdraw the proposed bill, failing which LIC employees will organise a series of agitations. The national convention of the employees will be held in Delhi on September 7, where a decision about the future course of action to campaign and struggle against neo-liberal policies of the government will be taken, K Venugopal told reporters.

Commenting on the proposed Lokpal Bill, he added that corporates should also be included under it and that trade unions must also be given a chance to express their views on the same

........EDITOR

"" SRI GANESH CHATURDHI"" GREETINGS

CDear Members, Viewers, Welwishes,

Wish you all a Sukh Karta, Dukh Harta Our dear Sri Ganesha will soon come to our place With tons of goodies on this Ganesh Chaturthi! Are you ready?

G- Get

A- Always

N- New

E- Energy

S- Spirit

H- Happiness

Wish U Happy Ganesh Chaturti

With Warm Greetings

M. HANUMANTHA RAO      T. GOPALA KRISHNA

                             PRESIDENT                GENERAL SECRETARY