KOCHI: Buying insurance policies is a simple process now, thanks to their availability online. However, when it comes to settlement of vehicle insurance claims under online policies, customers are often left in the lurch, clueless for months.
Various sites like ‘PolicyBazaar’ and ‘BankBazaar’ issue policies within seconds from major general insurance providers for all type of vehicles. However, not many notice the fact the policy issuing offices are located where these websites are based in, mostly in Gurugram or Bengaluru.
Anna Mathew, a policyholder from Kochi who got her scooter repaired, was surprised at the response she received after submitting the claim bills at the offices of United India Insurance Company. “Since it was an online policy, I was told the settlement may take several months as it will have to be done from the registered office in Gurugram,” said Anna. “They asked me to follow it up with the issuing office in Gurugram for further updates. Is this how a customer should be treated? I feel cheated now,” she said.
An officer with a public sector general insurance company, on condition of anonymity, said they still manually record such outstation claims and send them by post to the offices concerned for settlement.
“We have repeatedly raised the issue regarding customer complaints with the top management,” the officer said. He said the companies can always designate a few offices in each state for online policies or make provisions all policies can be settled in any office of the company concerned.
T K Haridasan, DGM, United India Insurance, said though the claims are processed at any office across the country, settlements are still done by the issuing office. “We are yet to receive a considerable amount of complaints in this regard, maybe because online policies are just picking up. But, we are aware of the delays and are in the process of decentralising the settlement of claims,” said Haridasan.