NEW DELHI, Sept 2:
The Insurance Ombudsmen offices across the country settled a total of 40,527 complaints related to policyholders’ grievances in the last 2021-22 financial year.
In FY21, the Insurance Ombudsmen offices had disposed of 30,596 complaints.
The Delhi centre office of the Bima Lokpal or the Insurance Ombudsmen settled 3,830 complaints in 2021-22.
The Bima Lokpal at the Delhi office told reporters here that it is an alternative grievance redressal platform set up by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai).
It is also a platform for speedy and cost-effective disposal of customer complaints. Constituted under the Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017, there are as many as 17 Insurance Ombudsmen (IO) centres in the country, covering all the states and union territories (UTs).
The Delhi centre strives to dispose of the complaints within 30 days of registration, Sudhir Krishna, Insurance Ombudsman said. The complainants should register their plaints with the grievance department of the insurance company.
They can reach the Bima Lokpal within one year from the decision of the insurer or after the expiry of one month from the date of sending writing to the insurer, if the insurer fails to reply to the complaint.
Among others, the Bima Lokpal takes up cases where the amount of relief sought does not exceed Rs 30 lakh.
Sounding alert, the Lokpal said consumers should not fall prey to unrealistic returns or offers like interest-free loan, revival or portal of policy, bonus or commission.
For the Delhi centre, the Ombudsmen Office said over 50 per cent of the complaints registered were resolved by conciliation/settlement.
The Bima Lokpal also conducts online hearings and complaint filing, with a majority now being done through this channel only. (PTI)
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