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'LIC agents will help settle claims of the quake-hit'

Here's an edited, abridged transcript of the live Internet chat of Rediff Readers with Subhash Mishra, secretary-general, the Life Insurance Agents' Federation of India and a top insurance agent himself. The theme of the chat, held on January 30, was: "Insurance claims during calamities".

Shambhu: Do you (insurance agents) have databases on your clients?

Subhash Mishra: Yes, we have all the details of insurance policies of our clients. We can provide all the information for our clients' policies, including policy numbers, sum assured, date of commencement, date of maturity, name of the nominee or beneficiary, the date of last premium paid, etc. We can retrieve these data whenever we want.

Vinayshah: I believe LIC has decided not to register any new policies in the next 15 days. Is this true?

No. It's not true. Your query actually pertains to non-life insurance companies which want to play it safe and want to steer clear of bad claims. Perhaps, they don't want to issue any new policies in the next 15 days because no one knows what is going to happen, how many buildings are going to survive.

Harish: Can you throw some light on the role of your insurance agents' association in the event of calamities like the Gujarat earthquake? Will the entry of private insurers help increase awareness of earthquake insurance? Should such an insurance cover be made mandatory in quake-prone zones?

We have been discussing with all the persons concerned who will be helping the claimant in absence of the necessary documents.

On Tuesday afternoon, we had talks with A Farooqi, executive director, publicity, LIC. We sought a clarification on the necessary instructions issued by the LIC Headquarters for settling death claims.

We found in the circular certain paragraphs that were detrimental to speedy settlement of claims.

Then we discussed the matter with the executive concerned and LIC's managing director. And the circular finally issued was a simplified version of the initial draft. Thanks to this, claim settlements will be expedited to a great extent.

For the first time, LIC has given authority to insurance agents to certify death of policy-holders. An agent's declaration will be treated as death certificate and the claim will be settled.

The agents with more than ten years' experience or divisional manager club members, zonal manager club members and circle manager club members, are authorised to certify death of policy-holders.

Vinayshah: What should one do to get one's claim settled?

The claimant should contact the respective agent first. If the agent is not traceable, they should contact the branch office. The branch office will have all the details.

If the branch building is among the affected structures, then the divisional office may be contacted.

You would be glad to know that divisional offices are fully computerised and data pertaining to the entire state of Gujarat can be retrieved at the respective Divisional Office.

Kemchcho: Some media reports say a lot of claims have already been made. Does this mean there are a lot of bogus claims?

I personally checked with LIC headquarters whether they or their branches had received any claims from claimants.

The LIC has confirmed that NOT a single claim has been made so far! So, as far as life insurance is concerned, no claims have been made.

The LIC is taking all precautions to avoid bogus or false claims. But at the same time, LIC does not want to create any hurdles in settling genuine claims.

Jiten: How will death due to earthquake be treated by insurance companies -- natural death or accidental?

Death due to earthquake will be treated as accidental death.

Those people covered under double accident benefit of LIC... they or their claimants will get double the sum assured and bonus till date. There is a limit of Rs 500,000 for double accident policy.

Mita: How many claims do you expect?

We expect a large number of claims. It is very difficult to quantify. But we expect a large number of claims from Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, and Bhuj. Press reports indicating that 3,000 claims have already been made, are not accurate, we feel. If at all there are any claims, they must be non-life insurance claims.

Jitenshah: Why not send insurance agents to help settle claims in Bhuj and other smaller villages?

That's a good question, Jiten. We are planning to organise several teams of agents that will go visit different affected parts and help the claimants to settle their claims expeditiously.

A team of 50 top and professional agents is expected to leave for Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat and Bhuj within a few days. Not only that, teams comprising 5-6 LIC agents each will be sent to each and every village where we have, say, ten or more claimants.

Maggie: Is it true that LIC might steer clear of seismically active Gujarat in future because it does not want too many liabilities on its books? After the advent of private insurers, is LIC still the best insurer?

Maggie, good question that. We can't speak on behalf of LIC. We are insurance agents, not part of the LIC establishment. But our guess is that LIC will continue to cover all insurable persons anywhere in India, including Gujarat or Northeast or Kashmir.

As to your question: should one opt for private or public sector insurance companies? Well, the choice will remain with the prospective buyer of insurance cover.

All we, the insurance agents, can say is that LIC is a mighty organisation with huge life funds. LIC has insurance policies for all segments of societies, from a small kid to a retired person, to suit their needs.

Sagar: In the context of LIC chairman's announcement that procedures for claims have been eased, what are your plans?

We are requesting all our colleagues -- LIC agents -- to reach out to each and every claimant at their doorstep.

We are very confident that we will succeed in settling all the claims within a few days after receipt of the required papers.

There is no cause for any major worry as far as the issue of claims is concerned.

Yes, LIC has indeed eased a lot of claim procedures. And this, believe me, is a piece of good news amid so much bad news.

Thank you very much for your time, for joining this Internet chat on rediff.com.

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