Life insurers told to simplify cylcone claims settlement

IRDA tells insurers to treat claimants with empathy

Insurance regulator IRDAI has advised life insurers to consider a “suitably simplified process/procedure, including relaxations in the usual requirements, wherever feasible” for expediting settlement of the claims arising due to Tauktae and Yaas cyclones. Listing the measures it wanted to be undertaken, in view of loss of lives and belongings in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha and West Bengal, IRDAI said immediate action ought to be initiated by life insurance companies to ensure that all reported claims are registered and eligible claims settled promptly. Special attention may also be given to PMJJBY claims, a circular from the regulator said. “With regard to claims involving loss of life, where difficulty is experienced in obtaining a death certificate due to non-recovery of body, the process followed in the case of Chennai floods in 2015 may be considered,” the communication said. The regulator also advised the companies to designate a senior-level officer as the nodal officer in the affected States/Union Territories for coordinating/expediting settlement of all claims reported. It wanted the companies to also designate such nodal officers for each of the affected districts to liaise with district administration.