National Insurance Commission said it is working to ensure that complaints about un-settled insurance claim becomes a thing of the past in the nation’s insurance industry

“Until recently, we use to record an average of 10 or more complaints per month from the public about  insurance companies not meeting their claims obligations. But all of last year, we had about 12 complaints or less from the public. An average of one per month and the commission intends to reduce this to zero”, said Fola Daniel, Commissioner for Insurance

The problem of un-settled insurance claims is one of the major challenge inhibiting the growth of the industry as it occasions negative perception for insurance services

To ensure that the industry surmounts this challenge,  Daniel had at different times  within and outside the insurance industry urged people with genuine un-settled claims to report their cases to the commission.

Speaking at a workshop for insurance correspondents in Benin, Daniel said that the level of complaints  on unsettled claims has reduced significantly, which shows that the operators are living up to their promises.

He said he was happy when at a radio programme interview, the Director_General of Consumer Protection Council, Mrs. Ify Umenyin who also happened to be on the same programme attested to the fact that insurance companies are paying genuine claims on a daily base.

Daniel said that he was pleased to hear from Mrs Umenyin that insurance companies are paying genuine claims which she puts at 88 percent.

According to him, “The issue of non_payment of claims by insurance companies is fast becoming a thing of the fast. This was one issue that actually gave the industry negative advertisement in the past.

The NAICOM chief said, “If an underwriter tells a client that in the event of a risk crystallizing, he will be there to restore the client to his former position, then the company should not under any guise delay or refuse to pay the necessary claims to the customer whenever the need arises. The commission frowns seriously against such antics and that is why the number of complaints if falling by the day”

In spite of these claims by NAICOM, and CPC, a section of the public still hold the view that operators do not pay  claims whereas an insurance company would  run at a loss if  pays fraudulent claims .

The Insurance Commissioner affirmed that  the commission views failure or undue delay in claims settlement as an aberration; adding that individuals, corporate bodies or government establishments that have genuine unsettled claims against any insurance company are advised to lay the complaint with NAICOM.

“This is why NAICOM advises policy holders to ensure that they obtain their policies from NAICOM_registered insurance companies only. A policy obtained from a fake insurance institution has no liability attached and no compensation can be received if such complaints are made to the commission.”

Insuring public in their bid to get the cheapest rate for the insurances fall into the hands of fake operators who are non_existence and when claims arise, they then trace the genuine insurance companies whose  certificates had been forged by the fake company to lay claims. And when the genuine underwriter refuses to pay such claims, the company is tagged all kind of names just to get at  the insurer and the sector.

Daniel, however, maintained that the commission considers prompt claims settlement as the best awareness campaign tool.

His words: “For us at NAICOM, the greatest awareness campaign an insurance company can embark upon is prompt settlement of claims. When an insurance company pays claims promptly, then a lot of confidence is preserved”