Redress insurance grievances online

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The protection of policyholders' interest, it seems, is on the top of the agenda of the Insurance Regulatory and Development authority (IRDA). Through a media campaign, it has increased focus on educating policyholders and publiciising the grienvance redressal mechanisms. It has also introduced the Integrated Grievance Management System (IGMS), a platform to help customers lodge and track their complaints online.

The normal procedure will be in the following manner:

First make a complaint in writing to the insurer and then approach the IRDA, if not responded or not satisfied, through IGMS.
In Life insurance, typically, grievances pertain to unilateral change of policy and claim repudiation on grounds of suppression of material facts by the insured.
Incase of General Insurance, non settlement or partial settlement of claims, delay in approving a claim, refusal to renew health insurance policies and loading of premium form the key issues of disputes.

Before taking your grienvances to the regulator through IGMS, you need to have complained to the insurer. Escalation can be done if the insurer does not respond to your satisfaction with in 15 days .
IRDA's grievance redressal norms require insurers to acknowledge a compaint within three working days of its receipt. They also have to specify the period within whcih it may be resolved.

If the grievance is resolved with in three days, the complaint will be intimated. Else, the company will have to send a final letter of resolution within two weeks.
If the company rejects your complaint, it will have to specify the reason and inform the policyholder about other redressal avenues available.

IGMS Facility
A portal (www.igms.irda.gov.in) that allows policy holders to lodge the complaints online. The compliants are then forwarded to the insurance companies concerned. Policyholders can also track the status of their complaints.
If the insurers fail to resolve your grienvances, you can also get in touch with this cell by calling 155255 or emailing: complaints@irda.gov.in

Next step will be with the Insurance Ombudsman.
The policy holders can file their complaints with the ombudsman under whose jurisdiction your complaint falls. The Ombudsman has the authority to pass orders and award compensation to policyholders.
The ombudsman's decision is binding on the insurer. If the policy holders are not satisfied with the Ombudsman's verdict, they can approach the consumer courts or civil courts for relief.

Finally, there have been instances of customers winning by prusuing their grievances diligently.

Note: Information have been extracted from the article wirtten by Shilpy sinha and Preeti Kulkarni in Economic Times dt. 09.11.11 under Personal Finance column.

V.Senthilnathan