The Federal Insurance Ombudsman (FIO) has advised those intending to subscribe to an insurance policy to carefully examine the documents, instead of putting blind trust in insurance agents.
Lahore FIO In Charge Abdul Basit Khan said this on the occasion of the sharing of the annual report of 2021-22 with the media persons on Friday. Earlier FIO Dr Khawar Jameel presented the report to President Arif Alvi last week. The president is also appellate authority against the judgments of the FIO.
As per the report, the FIO received 3,528 complaints from policyholders about the discrepancies created by the rigid working of insurance firms and disposed of 3,403 of them. According to the report, the office helped the policyholders get an accumulative relief of Rs2.6 billion relief.
Basit Khan said that in the interest of those who intend to buy an insurance policy should never believe in tall claims made by sales agents without any documentary evidence. “Most of the problems arise when policyholders give incorrect information. So, make sure that no false or incorrect information is filled in,” he said. He added that before buying a policy, check the credentials of the agent, and pay the insurance premium through a crossed cheque in the name of the company. Moreover, keep your family and next of kin apprised of your insurance policy.
“All the judgments of FIO were gladly accepted by the parties and no appeal was filed against these judgments which is a big success, not only for the FIO Dr Khawar Jameel and his associates at the FIO regional offices in the country, but also for entire team of FIO”, he said.
According to the annual report, despite the work pressure and restrictions due to Covid-19 pandemic, the FIO secretariat continued to services to all the aggrieved citizens and policyholders for protecting their rights. It said the adjudication by FIO provided nearly two billion rupees monetary relief to the aggrieved complainants and policyholders.
Abdul Basit said FIO is working on a mission to provide judicious protection of the interests of all the stakeholders in the insurance industry and redress the grievances of policyholders against the maladministration and misspelling of the policies.
He said the vision of FIO is to develop a modern and sound oversight mechanism based on equitable principles to take cognizance of the maladministration in the insurance industry. He said insurance sector is essential for the development of and growth of country’s economy.
