Page 8 - Life Insurance Today May 2016
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of 3 years in order to avoid the Rejection of the claim cards, post-policy questionnaires etc and the Regulator
by the insurer. Well, the hand of the Law is always should do surprise checks of them in order to improve
longer to nab such culprits but we can't penalize all the customer service.
innocent policyholders just because there are a few
anti-social elements in the society. IRDAI may arrange customer meets of all the insurance
companies in major towns and also in the rural areas.
Even within the 3 years of taking the policy, if death The invitees for this meet should be randomly
takes place, the investigation should be ordered only selected- not like the present customer meets where
for big amounts and not for petty amounts. IRDAI may the policyholders are tutored and brought. Only then
fix the ceiling of Rs 5 lacs or more for such there will be real feedback.
investigations and not for the lower amounts.
IRDAI may insist on proper discipline, punctuality and
IRDAI Life Member Mr NB Sathe has mentioned that prompt disposal of the pending papers by the staff of
the Regulator will study the pattern of death claims the insurance companies by arranging surprise visits.
after 3 years of taking the policies for certain time These will make the employees alert.
limit of 3/5 years and then decide to approach the
Government for any modification in the death claims IRDAI has correctly defined the role of Banks in the
settlement rule, if any undesirable trends are noticed. sale of insurance plans in the sense that Banks are
answerable to the complaints of the policyholders as
The insurer should bear the cost of the Service Tax, Brokers and not show the hand towards the insurance
imposed by the Government of India, instead of companies as being done hitherto.
levying it on the policyholders, as done hitherto.
IRDAI may insist on the superior Quality of Service to
IRDAI has recommended the waiver of Service Tax for be rendered to the customers- Service Quality is
the insurance premium on the lines of incentives defined as " a measure of how well the service level
granted to the National Pension Scheme contribution delivered matches customer expectations . Delivering
up to Rs 50000 each year. quality service means confirming to customer
expectations on a consistent basis". This only leads to
Similarly IRDAI has suggested for the removal of customer loyalty and customer retention.
income tax on the maturity value & bonus of life
insurance policies, quoting the bank rule of levying Some thoughts for the life insurance
income tax on the interest only earned by the companies
customers beyond Rs 10000 every year and not
levying income tax on the Principle Deposit. 1. There should be more concentration on Health
Insurance as it is the talk of the day. This sector has
There should be continuous customer education brought in a premium of Rs 20096 crores in 2014-15
campaigns organized not only by the IRDAI- now done compared to the earlier year figure of Rs 17495 crores,
to a limited extent- but also all the insurance thus showing a plus variation of 15%. This sector is
companies. going to grow at a steady rate of 18-20% for the next
5 years in view of new products, technology
There should be regular Consumer Awareness Meets innovations, customer awareness, the increasing cost
organized by all the insurance companies. of hospital treatment, disease burden and regulatory
fillip.
Although the methods of premium payment have now
improved thanks to Technology like the internet, ECS, 2. The quality of the distributors at all levels- Agents,
ATMs etc, the customer should have the facility of Bancassurance, Corporate Agencies- should be
'Drop Boxes' in the important locations of the city/ improved across the board in order to win the
town, where the cheques are collected every day by confidence of the customers. This can be done by
the insurer and receipts issued promptly. select recruitment and better training.
There should be regular customer feedbacks through
an external agency like the surveys, service score
"There is never a time or place for true love. It happens accidentally, in a heartbeat, in a single flashing, throbbing moment."
8 May 2016 Life Insurance Today
