KARACHI: Federal Insurance Ombudsman (FIO) Dr Khawar Jameel has said that Pakistan collects a total premium of Rs 378 billion annually that makes the ratio of only 0.08% to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is the lowest in the region, adding the rate is more than 2% in China, the neighboring country India has it at 0.78%, and our next target is to increase this rate to 1.5%.

He said that a total annual premium of Rs 378 billion is collected in Pakistan in which the insurance companies pay only 1% in return for the claims. In this regard Insurance companies have also been consulted to improve the system, he said.

Talking with members of Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), he said that efforts were being made to resolve the insurance complaints, adding that a large number of complaints were received regarding agreements and misleading people.

In this regard, we have collaborated with the Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and the State Bank of Pakistan, and have successfully made changes in the agreements. Banks cannot deduct insurance money directly from their customer’s account, for which verification from account holder has been made mandatory, he said. “The money is transferred to the insurance company only after two formal verifications.”

Dr. Khawar Jameel said that consumer complaints were dealt with in a short span of 60 days, while in some cases our decisions were challenged in courts. “However, no decision has been challenged in the courts in the past few years.”

It is clear that decisions are being made on the basis of merit. In the past, up to Rs 410million had been settled by the Insurance Ombudsman; however, just last year more than Rs 2.13billion was settled.

Dr. Khawar Jameel said: We seek KATI cooperation in this regard. KATI can play an important role in creating awareness among consumers about Insurance Ombudsman.

KATI President Saleem-uz-Zaman said that there was a lack of awareness in the masses about the facilities provided by the Insurance Ombudsman. “We are Interested in working together to make KATI members more aware.”

He said KATI’s role in economic growth is of paramount importance. KATI took important steps for the survival of industry in the lockdown last year and continued business life.

President KATI said that we started the process of vaccination in collaboration with the Sindh government and so far more than 70,000 employees and laborers have already been vaccinated. KATI is also taking steps to facilitate vaccination at the doorsteps of industries.

KATI CEO Zubair Chhaya said that there is a lot of ambiguity in insurance matters; the general public is not aware about insurance, the points listed on the form by the insurance companies are printed in this way that they are not easily readable.

He said that the Insurance Ombudsman kept KATI informed of his steps from time to time so that KATI could pass on the information to his members in order to help them.

Syed Tariq Hussain, Chairman, KATI Committee for Insurance, said that they are pleased to hear that now the complaints are resolved with the Insurance Ombudsman within 60 days, but common man has no awareness of such facilities. Generally, people don’t know that the complaint can be submitted to the Insurance Ombudsman on a plain paper without any fee, without involvement of a lawyer, he added.

He suggested that the Insurance Ombudsman should develop a mobile app for the convenience of the public through which complaints could be lodged easily and the details related to it would also be available to the customer in a timely manner.

Mubashir Naeem Siddiqui, Director General, Federal Insurance Ombudsman, said on the occasion that for the convenience of the public, there is a website of the Insurance Ombudsman on which consumers can easily lodge a complaint.

He said that we want KATI to make an information poster and distribute it to all members about the Insurance Ombudsman services.

He said that the Insurance Ombudsman is committed to bring free and timely justice to the people.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021