Poojitha Raam Vinay
IRDA or Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India is the regulatory body of the insurance sector in India.
The mission of IRDA includes
- To protect the interest of and secure fair treatment to policyholders
- To bring about speedy and orderly growth of the insurance industry (including annuity and superannuation payments), for the benefit of the common man, and to provide long term funds for accelerating growth of the economy;
- To set, promote, monitor and enforce high standards of integrity, financial soundness, fair dealing and competence of those it regulates
- To ensure speedy settlement of genuine claims, to prevent insurance frauds and other malpractices and put in place effective grievance redressal machinery
- To promote fairness, transparency and orderly conduct in financial markets dealing with insurance and build a reliable management information system to enforce high standards of financial soundness amongst market players
- To take action where such standards are inadequate or ineffectively enforced
- To bring about optimum amount of self-regulation in day-to-day working of the industry consistent with the requirements of prudential regulation
In the era of digitalisation, buying an insurance policy is also as easy as buying anything from any e-commerce portal like Amazon etc. However, many make unintentional or unknown mistakes or errors while buying a suitable insurance policy online.
The diverse policies on the internet often confuses the right policy to buy. Here are a few points to remember before buying a policy online to enjoy full benefits at the right time.
Conduct a Research
Set goals before investing in a policy may be higher education, buying a house or car or even retirement. Conduct a research on various options available online offered by different companies considering the benefits, features, maturity time and premium with your goal centric.
This helps not to get stuck in the wrong policy.
Submitting Wrong Information
Providing incorrect or insufficient information may lead either to decrease of benefits or cancellation of policy. Even a minor or a seemingly insignificant lie can lead to the rejection of your claims and therefore, you need to be extra cautious and get all the facts right while filling up the form.This might be because of no agent acting on behalf of the client.Uberrimae Fidei (utmost good faith) is the key for an insurance contract.
Underestimation or Overestimation
Sometimes miscalculation or lack of research leads to insufficient or large payouts towards the policy. The policies might not yield the desired benefits if investment is insufficient. Buy policies which take care of the inflation.
Buying big cover policies for a longer time is also as advised by many insurance researchers, since the paying of premiums continue even after retirement.
Calculate the policy upto the retirement age these are available on the websites of the insurance companies called Insurance Calculators.
Not Paying Premium on Time
If you miss the due date as well as the grace period for making the payment, the policy will lapse and you will have to buy it afresh. There is a 15-30-day grace period for paying the premium, but this is only for renewing the policy, not for continuing the cover.
Insurance companies may contact you via e-mails, text messages and phone calls as reminders, but it is your responsibility to ensure your premiums are paid in time. One can provide standing instructions for the renewal of policy to the Insurance Company,this shall avoid the failure of non payment towards Premium.
Careful Reading of the Policy Document
The policy document contains all the information related to it, including product features, terms and conditions, inclusions and exclusions, exemptions, etc., which a policyholder must be aware of. Not reading the policy document beforehand can lead to future disputes.
Make sure to ask the insurer and understand these terms and conditions before you decide to purchase the policy. You can either call the toll free number on the website or write to them as instructed on the Insurance Company’s website.
Another important right is the refund of the policy one can Cancel a life insurance policy within 15 days from the date of receipt of the policy document. If you disagree with any of the terms or conditions in the policy.
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