Hyderabad, July 21: The Union Government is contemplating to empower the Ombudsmen to suo moto register complaints from public and also through reference from Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said. Ultimately any business will have to ensure customer satisfaction to survive in the long term.
Protection of policy holders’ interest is possible through a fair dispute resolution and adjudication mechanism which is easily accessible. The centre and the IRDA are working together to strengthen the institution of Ombudsmen by various means. It is also being contemplated to provide suo moto registration of complaints by Ombudsmen and also through a reference from IRDA.
These measures will go long way in building the confidence of the public in the insurance companies. While Ombudsmen provide second level of dispute resolution mechanism, it is essential that insurers themselves institute efficient in-house grievance redressal mechanism where the policy holder is treated as the centre of attention, Mr Mukherjee said .
He yesterday said IRDA’s grievance call centre and the insurance information bureau heralds an important chapter in the development of the insurance sector. ”I congratulate IRDA in taking steps that affect the two most important stakeholders of the insurance sector— the insurance policy holders and the insurance companies.
While the setting up of the grievance call centre will enable the IRDA to effectively discharge one of its principal activities of protecting the interest of the policy holder, the information bureau will disseminate accurate data to the insurers to price their insurance products on a scientific basis”.
——Agencies