- Target:
- IRDA, Indian Insurance companies- Max Newyork Life, Tata AIG
- Region:
- India
- Website:
- www.irdaindia.org
Undoubtedly, Insurance is a matter of solicitation.
In this 70 percent illiterate country, it is by necessity entirely verbal.
Even for the other 30 percent, it still is verbal.
Spoken Word is the ultimate Indian promise by lore, over riding all other modes.
All insurance contracts hence rely in the trust and faith of full and fair verbal disclosure of all the features of the policy.
This enormous onus is completely on the vested shoulders and integrity of an agent/ advisor/ webpage.
State protected Insurance Industry, was opened to, private players.
The huge, 1600 billion rupees potential market, must have been the pivotal reason.
The gullible, insulated, policy holder, literate or otherwise, was unprepared, for these multinational sharks.
Furthermore, 2 centuries of, pampering British, has permanently altered our psyches to implicitly TRUST, the rulers, white and brown.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development authority(IRDA) was setup by the parliament, in 1999. The mandate: protect the policy holders & regulate the companies.
Eight years later, IRDA and the policy holders at the industry‘s mercy should have enough experiences in the quality and quantum of this “protection" in reality.
Max New York life, for example,
a) Fail to reveal uncomfortable swing factors like, periodic hike in premium for the riders, the actual cash surrender value, etc, at Proposal.
b) A SHYLOCKIAN, 70 percent penalty of the fully paid up premium, excluding the first year’s premium, any dues to the company , and all the investment benefits reaped from you is subsequently levied, even if you choose to leave this “satisfied family partnership’ for breach of faith and trust.
c) The form is unsigned-intentionally? - by the sole company representative you may ever get to meet, the agent-Advisor.
The educated are specifically, penalized transferring the entire burden, of comprehension, compliance and consequences, to this sole signature (only YOURS) for this potentially 43 years unilateral bondage.
d) Confusing, confounding, 24 pages of American jargon masks this bondage. “The premiums under this –‘10 year term’- rider are guaranteed for 5 years”.
This, you are to comprehend is their IRDA carte blanche for increases which you are never told about.
e) Even the ‘Free look provision’ is pricey @ SHYLOCKIAN SEVENTY?
f) Many of these ‘tailored’ opportunities are mysteriously discontinued
How did IRDA approve these grossly exploitative, anti consumer clauses?
(http://www.irdaindia.org/lifeproducts/maxnewyork031007.htm )
Tata AIG and Spice Jet on the other hand, are jointly seducing domestic air traveler netizens with policies promising ‘100 percent flight costs, for trip cancellation, delay, interruption etc’ exploiting the Indian traveler’s nightmares.
http://www.spicejet.com/tata_aig_productdescription.asp
The morning after you discover, these policies are like surgical gowns covering nothing vital.
Not even the airline’s failure to fulfill the obligation for its own operational reasons.
What is irrevocably damaged, is the TATA WORD & IMAGE, for Just under Rs. 400!
Other instances galore:
1) http://www.consumercomplaints.in/?s
earch=insurance
2) http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/max-newyork-life-insurance-policy-whole-life-participating-plan-c34840.html
3) http://www.complaintsboard.com/?search=insurance
We the undersigned insurance customers are ourselves victims or are aware of such cases.
We represent the tip of an iceberg numbering over 100 million.
‘IRDA Approved’ is the uniform Mantra of these companies for all their acts of omission and commission.
Therefore, through this petition we are constrained to demand that , IRDA, The President, Prime minister, Finance Minister, The Speaker of Loksabha, Chairman of Rajyasabha, Members of both houses of Parliament, and pro consumer organizations examine the issues and rectify them urgently to end the massive exploitation in this market.
1) Why is there no onus of full and fair verbal disclosure of all policy provisions on the companies, for the literate and illiterate alike?
2) How were these unjust, unfair, totally anti customer clauses and conditions approved by IRDA?
3) Why should the educated be thus penalized for their literacy?
4) Do not the levels of protection and regulation by IRDA need to be drastically increased?
Say, by setting up, a mandatory, public, grievances, redressals database of the industry. This will form an adjunct resource of informed decision, for the policy holders.
Otherwise, this ‘protection/ regulation’, ends up as a government / IRDA authorized carte blanche of exploitation.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Insurance Regulatory Developement Authority (IRDA) Protection Inadequate petition to IRDA, Indian Insurance companies- Max Newyork Life, Tata AIG was written by M.B.Nataraj and is in the category Consumer Affairs at GoPetition.