IRDAI has issued a Master Circular on General Insurance on 11th June 2024. This Master Circular provides guidance on the operational aspects relating to general insurance products and many other issues pertaining to General Insurance Business.
I would highlight some important changes brought about by the circular.
- Insurers must make available products/add-ons that provide wider choice to retail policyholders, covering assets, risks, properties, liabilities, etc., for individuals, farmers, MSMEs, and other retail segments.
- Insurers shall not withdraw or decline to offer to any customer any of the erstwhile tariff products which have been in existence prior to issuance of this Master circular.
- Every Insurer shall have a retail product which is identified and designated as base product defining the necessary minimum coverage in each Line of Business. The same will be displayed on its website allowing customers to compare with its variants or alternatives.
- The Master Circular shall not apply to health insurance products included within a package product.
- Every retail customer shall be given Customer Information Sheet (CIS) with every policy in the format given in Annexure B. This document explains in simple words, basic features of a policy at one place.
- Documentation should ensure that no claim is rejected for want of documents that should have been collected at the time of underwriting. All the required documents shall be called at the time of underwriting the proposal.
- Insurers are liable to a penalty for delays in claim settlement beyond the stipulated timelines.
- The Product Management Committee (PMC) is responsible for ensuring compliance with the legal and regulatory framework.
- Surveyors are responsible for impartial and accurate evaluation of claims exceeding Rs 50,000 for motor insurance and Rs 1 lakh for other insurance.
- The appointment of surveyors must happen within 24 hours of a claim report.Claims must be decided within seven days of receipt of the survey report.Surveyors must submit their reports within fifteen days of allocation, with insurers deciding claims within seven days of receiving the report.
- The insurer is required to comply with the Award of the Insurance Ombudsmen within 30 days of receipt of award by the insurer. In case the insurer does not honour the award a penalty of Rs. 5000/- per day shall be payable to the complainant.
For Insurance Surveyors some big changes has been announced. This will boost the surveyor’s profession and ensure faster settlement of claims.“In order to bring about transparency in the allotment of survey job to the surveyor and loss assessors, a tech based approach is the need of the hour. The General Insurance Council shall in association with Indian Insurance Institute of Surveyor and Loss Assessors (IIISLA) is, therefore, advised to develop a technology based solution for allocation of survey work to a surveyor and loss assessor, based on department, line of business, geography, qualification and any other factor relevant to the allocation. The system should auto-generate the allocation of survey jobs seamlessly to surveyors. The allocation shall be on a random basis ensuring equitable and fair opportunities to the surveyors and loss assessors. This system shall be made operational latest by 31st October, 2024.”
To achieve the objective of Insurance for All by 2047, gaining customer confidence is of prime importance and it must be ensured that the grievance of customers are settled hassle-free and time bound manner.
