Page 49 - The Insurance Times August 2022

Vehicle Insurance

NDRF carries out pan-India security au- According to the petition, it has been alleged that various
insurance providers engaged in a number of offences, mis-
dit of ropeways
using policyholder funds, rerouting funds through additional
The NDRF has begun a nationwide survey of passenger businesses, and paying exorbitant overriding commissions
cable cars and ropeway systems to find out possible secu- to banks and their agents.
rity flaws in them and to prepare a structural blueprint that
will help it launch effective rescue operations in case of an "The insurance companies are unjustly denying their Covid-
emergency. 19-related claims, it claimed, even in the midst of the on-
going pandemic Covid-19, in which the country's residents
The contingency force has also decided to train its rescuers have not only lost their jobs but also depleted their money",
in specific ropeway rescue skills apart from purchasing an it said.
assortment of tools like pulleys and carabiners to be used
for transporting the salvager and evacuating stranded Additionally, the petitioner submitted that Insurance com-
people from the car hanging in the air. The move comes as panies have caused wrongful losses to the policyholders.
at least four ropeway-related incidents, including one in Essentially the petitioner asked the court to ass an order
Uttarakhand, have been reported in the country so far this to ensure that the insurance claims submitted by the poli-
year. cyholders due to Covid-19 pandemic were not arbitrarily
rejected.
"The aim of the exercise is to not only sensitise the opera-
tors of this mode of transport about the precautions they The petition stated that due to the widespread pandemic
should practice and preparations they should have, it will the general insurance companies received a significant lot
also give us an action plan which can be used during emer- of claims from the policyholders. More than 80, 000 claims
gencies and disasters that hit the ropeway system," NDRF were received by the non-life insurance industry. However,
DG Atul Karwal said. despite having health insurance policies, the claims of the
policyholders were blatantly rejected by these insurance
IRDAI to look into rejected covid-19 companies citing frivolous reason.
claims
Further, it was submitted by the social trust that during the
IRDAI agreed to look into the Covid-19 policy claims that second wave of the pandemic the insurance firms settled
were rejected by insurance companies. only 54% of the claims received from the customers who
subscribed to an additional Covid health insurance as of
This comes after a public interest litigation was filed by a March 2021.
Manav Seva Dham (petitioner), a social services' trust
against various insurance companies before the Bombay The petitioner argued that only claims totaling to Rs.7,900
High Court. crore have been settled by insurers out of the total claims

The Insurance Times, August 2022 49