The insurance industry of India has seen a 34% decline in complaints over the past year, from 263,000 to 172,000, according to regulator data. This has been attributed to the reduction of misselling cases.
Data from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) showed that the life insurance segment’s complaints went down by 40%, while general insurance complaints decreased by 11%. The 17 financial ombudsman centres across the country received 26,767 comments, with 60% pertaining to life insurance, while the remainder was for general insurance.
The industry was also able to reduce the number of pending insurance complaints to 247 comparted to 935 at the same point last year.
According to IRDAI’s consumer affairs department, insurers must have the proper infrastructure in place to handle and quickly resolve claims. Providing a reasonable and timely decision about the claim will help increase customer satisfaction and reduce incidence of complaints. The regulator also cited efforts by insurers to reduce the instances of misselling insurance, saying these have led to fewer complaints from insurers.
Meanwhile, the regulator added that free-look cancellations have increased by 43%, from 3,551 to 5,083. Each policyholder is given a free-look period of 15 days, during which they can change their mind and cancel the policy to receive a full premium refund.
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