An exasperated customer sought help from Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman after failing to secure a hearing from the insurance ombudsman’s Delhi office over alleged non-payment of his claim.
The complainant tagged the finance minister in a post on X (formally Twitter) while sharing a letter mentioning the details of his grievance. “Mam please help us in getting hearing date in insurance ombudsman Delhi office. We are common man and can’t afford this stress,” he wrote.
In his letter he mentioned that despite filing a complaint with the ombudsman’s Delhi office on December 10, 2024, he is yet to hear any further communication from the regulator. He also mentioned that all calls to the ombudsman’s office remains unanswered. The man also wrote that the ombudsman’s Delhi office is 35 km away from his home compounding his problems.
He also mentioned that the insurance company rejected his motor insurance claim due to which he filed the complaint but to no avail.
FM Sitharaman tagged the Department of Financial Services (DFS) in the post and asked the agency to facilitate the matter. DFS covers the functioning of Banks, Financial Institutions, Insurance Companies and the National Pension System.
There have been a renewed focus on insurance claims and payouts in the light of Saif Ali Khan’s Rs 35.95 lakh medical bill for his treatment at Lilavati Hospital. While his insurance provider reportedly sanctioned Rs 25 lakh for cashless treatment, the remaining claim awaits final billing.
Many have alleged that because of the actor’s celebrity status such an amount was approved while for the common man the picture is dismal.
A recent report by IRDAI showed that the claim-to-settlement ratio, which shows how many claims were honoured by insurers stood at 86% in 2022-23 down from 87% in FY22. Net incurred claims to net earned premium (claims ratio) of non-life insurance industry stood at 82.52% during 2023-24 as against 82.95% in the preceding fiscal year, as per the IRDAI’s annual report.
According to the Annual Report 2023-24 of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), during 2023-24, the non-life insurance industry underwrote a total direct premium of Rs 2.90 lakh crore in India registering a growth of 12.76% from previous year.
The contribution of public sector general insurers increased 8.88% from Rs 82,891 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 90,252 crore in 2023-24.