New Delhi: Insurance regulator IRDA on Thursday asked the insurance companies to respond to the grievances of customers within two weeks or face penal action, a move aimed at protecting the interest of policy holders.
"An insurer shall send a written acknowledgement to a complainant within three working days of the receipt of the grievance. Where the grievance is not resolved within three working days, an insurer shall resolve the grievance within two weeks of its receipt and send a final letter of resolution," IRDA said in its grievance redressal guidelines.
These guidelines would be implemented with effect from August 1, 2010. "Any failure on the part of insurers to follow the procedures and time-frames would attract penalties by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA)," the regulator said.
The regulator further said where the insurer resolves the complaint within three days, it may communicate the resolution along with the acknowledgement.
The acknowledgement sent to the customer should contain the name and designation of the officer, who dealt with the grievance and should also contain the details of the insurer's grievance redressal procedure and the time taken for resolution of disputes.
"The insurer shall inform the complainant about how he/she may pursue the complaint, if dissatisfied," it added.
IRDA further said where, within two weeks, the company sends the complainant a written response of rejection of the complaint, the insurance company should also give the reasons for it.
The regulator also defined grievance and said that it should be clearly distinguished from inquiries and requests. It added that every insurer shall have a board approved grievance redressal policy, which should be filed with IRDA.
IRDA said every insurer should also have a designated grievance officer of a senior management level, which means either at the level of CEO or the compliance officer of the company.
"Every insurer shall have a system and procedure for receiving, registering and disposing off grievances in each of its offices," it added.
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