Page 22 - Insurance Times June 2023

My Name is

Claim

Samiran Lahiri
Executive Director cum CEO
Preferred Partners Insurance
Brokers Private Limited.

The general insurers can consider an add-on coverage towards guaranteed claim settlement at a
premium. This will ensure the payment of non-fraudulent claims with proper coverage of up to
75% of the claim amount, subject to a maximum of Rs. 50 crores.

he world knows the importance of insurance as The required documents are collected, and guidance is given
T financial protection for any unforeseen loss or to dispose of the claim quickly. Hardly any procrastination
technique is adopted, such as calling for papers infamously
damage of property or life. The price of
insurance, called premium, is the most loved child
of the family, no matter how unethically he is brought up. known as the LOR (letter of requirement). Such lists
ludicrously, even today, call for a police report in case of an
The hated child is the unwanted but the most helpful child earthquake or a meteorological report in case of a burglary.
of the family at a time of distress. His name is CLAIM. A template of all imaginable supporting documents is copied
and pasted in the surveyor's mail to the distressed insured.
The rhyme ends there.
Often, no indication of which ones ( documents)are relevant
In developed insurance markets, claims are treated with to the case leads to chaos and unnecessary trouble.
professional empathy as a natural happening, albeit
undesirable, under any insurance policy. In some open The insurance company's claims manager often does not
customer-friendly markets, the insurance companies go bother to call the surveyor and ask him to streamline the
overboard to help the insured at the time of claim. requirements. He is sometimes too happy since the claimant
will take years to submit those documents (even if remotely
They consider this an opportunity to prove their worth to
relevant). In others, he is too indifferent since the game is
the customers and win their trust forever. The relevant
between the claimant and the surveyor and does not involve
members of the whole ecosystem work fast and in perfect
him.
synergy. The salesperson immediately acknowledges the
claim, and the claim manager registers the same quickly and A senior public sector insurance company claims official once
deputes a surveyor. The surveyor calls the insured within the lamented the lack of coordination in his organization. The
shortest possible time, followed by a visit. claims department unduly rejected a claim, although the

20 June 2023 The Insurance Times