‘Need to up the Rs 30 lakh-limit in insurance compensation’

MUMBAI: There is a need to enhance the Rs 30-lakh limit on the amount of compensation that Insurance Ombudsman offices can award to policyholders as per Insurance Ombudsman Rules, 2017, Milind Kharat, Insurance Ombudsman (Mumbai Metropolitan Region excluding Navi Mumbai and Thane, and the state of Goa), said.

“Coverage of Rs 1 crore is now common in case of term insurance, health insurance and personal accident policies, but the cap on compensation is Rs 30 lakh,” he said, speaking at the sidelines of the Ombudsman office’s Bima Lokpal Day celebration. He also highlighted the need for raising awareness levels among insurance customers. “Many a times, they simply accept the insurer’s decision, as they are not aware that they can approach the ombudsman,” he said.

Out of the 27,808 complaints handled by ombudsman offices during 2017-18, life insurance accounted for 53.2 per cent — or 14,795 — of the grievances, while non-life made up the balance at 13,013 (46.8 per cent). “In case of non-life, over 90 per cent of the complaints pertain to health insurance policies,” said MML Verma, secretary general, Executive Council of Insurers. In the life insurance segment, LIC (3,217), HDFC Life (2,081), Reliance Nippon Life (1,357), Bharti-AXA Life (1,105) and Exide Life (1,022) accounted for a large share of these complaints.