Policyholders want insurers to restart sending physical copies of documents
Premium- In a survey, over 75% respondents said they wanted the insurance companies start sending the policy documents again
As Covid-19 virus spreads ebbs in India, over 75% respondents say that insurance companies should restart the process of sending physical copies of their insurance documents along with digital copies, according to a recent survey by Bombay Master Printers Association (BMPA).
Surprisingly, when requested for a physical insurance copy document, 59% of the respondents indicated that insurance companies refused to share the physical document.
Also, almost 88% of the respondents prefer to have a physical copy of their insurance document as insurance companies may demand it at the time of a claim, according to the findings of a survey of around 5,000 respondents across age groups and cities.
“Life and health insurance have even become more critical during these challenging times of Covid. Having a physical original document with the insured person gives them a mental peace that they would not be harassed by the insurer during the time of claim. This survey clearly indicates that the time has come for insurance companies to restart their pre-Covid standard practice of sending physical copies," Mehul Desai, former President and current Managing Committee member of Bombay Master Printer’s Association (BMPA). He is also a Governing Council (GC) Member of All India Federation of Master Printers (AIFMP).
The policy certificate contains critical details of the insurance cover laying out the benefits, terms and conditions, nominee details, the procedure to file for a claim if needed, and the contact details of the insurer. The policy document is expected to be received by the consumers with full details/information and not in any abridged form – which pushes consumers to seek some information at the insurance company website. The customer just expects that a policy purchased - its document to be provided in one complete document in form of a binding contract with the insurer.
The survey further indicates that over 80% of the respondents want insurance regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) should intervene and direct insurance companies to provide physical copy of policy documents to customers as a choice.
Incidentally, while several insurance companies decided to ‘Go Green’ by either discarding the physical copies of insurance policies completely or making it optional, even before the pandemic, many consumers believe that the same insurance companies ask them for a physical copy while claiming for the policy amount. The companies not only ask for the physical copy of the insurance policy but also other necessary supporting documents.
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As per regulation 4 of IRDAI (issuance of e-insurance policies) Regulations, 2016, an insurer has to issue both physical and electronic insurance certificates to policyholders. However, as an interim measure in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, Irdai had allowed insurers to issue only electronic policy documents and exempted them from the requirement of sending insurance policies in physical form till March 31, 2022, following two extensions.