Insurance companies will have to provide details of the unclaimed amount. IRDA has asked to update the information on the website every six months. Details of amount of Rs 1000 or more will have to be given on the website.
Insurance regulator IRDAI has issued new instructions in matters related to unclaimed insurance amount. IRDAI has asked insurance companies to provide details of unclaimed amount of Rs 1000 or more of policyholders on its website. Earlier, IRDAI had asked to take the help of insurance agents to find legitimate claimants and return the outstanding amount.
Details will have to be updated every six months: IRDA has recently issued a circular regarding this. It said that insurance regulators and the government are concerned about the increasing cases of unclaimed amounts. Insurance companies should implement a new system to return it to the policyholders. It is mandatory for companies to disclose the unclaimed policy amount and amount on their website. They will have to update this information every six months. IRDA has clearly said that those policies whose customers or beneficiaries cannot be contacted, should be kept in the unclaimed category.
What are the settlement rules: According to the rules, if the amount is not claimed within six months from the date of completion of maturity period, then the amount is considered unclaimed. According to a report, unclaimed amount of Rs 25,000 crore is deposited with life insurance companies. Of this, maximum 84 percent i.e. about Rs 21,000 crore is with the government insurance company LIC. This includes the amount related to maturity benefit, post death claims etc.
What happens if there are no claimants: If the insurance company does not have any claimants for a policy for 10 years, then the amount is transferred to the Senior Citizens Welfare Fund. It is used in schemes related to the welfare of senior citizens. Any insured or dependent can claim the amount for 25 years from the date of transfer to the fund. If this amount is not claimed for 25 years then it goes into the account of the Central Government.
That’s why such cases are increasing: Experts related to the insurance sector say that many times insurance agents do not enter the complete address and correct details of the customers while selling the policy. Apart from this, a large number of people change their address and mobile number. Some people buy an insurance policy but do not share it with their family members. In such a situation, their family members are not able to claim the insurance amount. At the same time, nominees are not even registered in some policies. In such a situation, there is difficulty in making a claim.
This is how the amount will be known: To know about such amount, IRDAI has asked insurance companies to provide the facility of searching on their website. With its help, the policyholder or dependent can find out whether they have any unclaimed amount with the concerned company. For this, the policyholder’s name, PAN, policy number and date of birth will have to be entered.
take this precaution
1. Enter complete details of address, mobile number and email ID in the insurance policy
2. If there is any change in this information, please update it in the policy.
3. Keep details of your entire investment online or in a diary. Please share this information with your family members.
Instructions to insurance companies
1. Update the customer’s mobile number, email address and nominee at the time of policy renewal.
2. Provide facility to insured to update contact numbers and bank details online.
3. Inform policyholders of completion of maturity period at least six months in advance
4. Complete incomplete KYC of the insured, re-KYC of minors
5. Take help of insurance agents to reach customers of claim free policy
