Sep 05,2024
Hyderabad: In the wake of the devastation unleashed by the recent floods in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, insurance regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has issued detailed instructions to all insurance companies to ensure that claims arising out of the loss of life, property, businesses, and infrastructure are settled speedily.
In a circular issued on Wednesday, IRDAI has directed all insurers to mobilise all their resources, including outsourced functions such as surveyors, loss adjustors, and investigators, to ensure immediate service response so that all the claims are surveyed immediately and payments are disbursed at the earliest.
It also said that in cases of claims involving loss of life, where the flood-affected are facing difficulties in getting death certificates due to the inability to recover the dead body, it has instructed insurers to consider claims without insisting on a death certificate if the details of the insured match with the details of the deceased published by the appropriate govt authorities.
As part of efforts to expedite claims settlements, all insurance companies have been instructed to nominate a senior executive to act as a nodal claims officer to oversee the claims response. Companies have also been instructed to inform the chief secretaries of the respective states about their appointment.
However, districts reporting a large number of claims can be overseen by a designated district claims service head, the insurance watchdog said.
“Special claims desks at the district level with adequate delegated claims settlement authorities are recommended to be set up for affected areas to facilitate speedy processing of claims and settlements, including the release of on-account interim payments to assist early reinstatement Of property and businesses,” the IRDAI circular said.
IRDAI has directed insurers to immediately engage an adequate number of surveyors and loss adjustors and, if need be, also deploy such resources from neighbouring states. To ensure the final settlement process is expedited, IRDAI has directed insurers to review and streamline claims processing by ensuring they ask only for documentation that is necessary to substantiate the claim quantum.
Source: Times of India