Page 34 - India Insurance Report 2023- BIMTECH

22 India Insurance Report - Series II

Section 149: Settlement by Insurance Company - The insurance company shall, upon receiving
information of the accident, either from the claimant or through accident information report or
otherwise, designate an officer to settle the claims relating to such accident. An officer designated
by the insurance company for processing the settlement of the claim of compensation may make
an offer to the claimant for settlement before the Claims Tribunal, giving such details within
thirty days and after following such procedure as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
If the claimant to whom the offer is made:

A) accepts such offer, the Claims Tribunal shall make a record of such settlement, and such claim
shall be deemed to be settled by consent, and the payment shall be made by the insurance company
within a maximum period of thirty days from the date of receipt of such record of settlement;

B) rejects such an offer, a date of hearing shall be fixed by the Claims Tribunal to adjudicate
such claim on merits.

This will help in the early settlement of the claim. However, since the offer is to be made
before the Claims Tribunal, the purpose of early settlement would get defeated as the
lawyer of the claimant would be in. Only if this was made mandatory for the claimant to
first approach the insurance company, as in the case of other claims, there would have been
a speedy settlement of the claims. The settlement could have been recorded in the court
accordingly. Therefore, it is IMPORTANT that Motor Third Party liabilities are allowed
to be managed as First Party Claims administration without taking away the right to Third
Party adjudication. In view of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019 provisions, it is
essential that the Indian Parliament / Central Government allow direct control and support
to the insurance companies in the management of Motor Third Party Liability claims to
make it much more inclusive and provide efficacious, timely, just and fair compensation to
the victims of Road Traffic Accidents.
7. Conclusion

A Transformative Agenda for the Indian Insurance Industry and its Policy Framework is all
about transforming the Indian Insurance Industry since financial services, including insurance,
exert a major impact on the long-term economic growth of a country. In this, the regulator,
as the Transformational Agent, ensures the right outcomes, ensuring fair competition with
a level playing field that drives efficiency and efficiency that, in turn, drives growth. The
status quo can only be changed through a principle-based legislative and regulatory
framework, with sufficient devolution, which will allow the application of behavioural
economics to ensure the right outcomes. Once an integrated framework of ensuring “Ease
of Doing Insurance Business” is ready, it will facilitate the Hon’ble PM’s campaign of” de-
regulation, and de-bottlenecking”. The fact that India is a single market for insurance should
significantly help the policymakers to put their imprimatur in underwriting human
endeavours. The Vision of Inclusion is possible through the right insurance governance,
which creates predictability and ensures equality before the law. It’s time to weave a new
idiom and a new set of engagements to fulfil the Mission- “Insurance ANTYODAYA”.