
BHUBANESWAR: Expressing concern over delay and non-settlement of crop loss claims under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), the state government on Wednesday asked the insurance companies to settle all claims on top priority.
Chairing the first meeting of state level insurance committee (SLIC) here on Wednesday, development commissioner Anu Garg urged it to function as a tripartite institutional mechanism involving the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDAI), state government and the insurance companies to set a gold standard in the insurance sector like the state level bankers’ committee (SLBC) in the banking sector.
The SLIC as a forum will assess the insurance coverage of the state and suggest measures to deepen the insurance penetration to achieve the goal of ‘Insurance for All’ by 2036.
Taking serious note on poor claim settlement under PMFBY, the committee instructed the insurance companies concerned to settle all claims in stipulated time.
Garg advised all insurance companies to ensure ease of insurance for common masses, devising affordable insurance products, bridging the trust deficit between insurer and insuree, simplifying the procedure by using technology driven platform, AI based mechanism for quick and maximum claim settlement and a robust grievance redressal mechanism to strengthen insurance ecosystem of the state.
The committee decided to appoint the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) as the nodal lead insurance company for SLIC. It also suggested constitution of sub-committees to address the issues pertaining to various sectoral insurance like life, crop, motor and health.
Member secretary, IRDAI, Satyajit Tripathy, LIC chairman Siddhartha Mohanty, regional director RBI, SP Mohanty, CEOs of four lead insurance companies such as Bharti Axa Life, Shriram General Insurance, LIC and Zurich Kotak General Insurance, principal secretary, Finance department, Saswat Mishra, principal secretary to Agriculture department, Arabinda Padhee and other senior officers were present in the meeting.