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Different life insurance companies have paid death insurance claims worth Tk 1,233 crore in the last five years.
After the death of policy holders, the insurance companies paid this amount to family members due to the full or partial maturity of the insurance policy, according to sources from Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDAA).
The insurance companies paid TK 293.86 core insurance claims against Tk 393.67 core in 2022; Tk 339 crore against Tk 432 crore in 2021; settled Tk 238.67 crore against Tk 343.43 crore in 2020; Tk 190.08 crore against Tk 280.76 crore in 2019; Tk 178.31 crore against Tk 271.18 crore in 2018; and Tk 203.37 crore against Tk 396.33 crore in 2017.
Alamger Feroj, deputy managing director of Popular Life Insurance, told The Business Post, “We never neglected the death insurance claims since the beginning. We pay our clients in due time if they are qualified for a death insurance claim.”
Due to its persistent popularity in insurance claim settlements, the regulatory authority lauded the work of Popular Life In-surance and asked other companies to follow its track record, he added.
“In 2022, MetLife Bangladesh has paid Tk 2,548 crore in insurance claims to customers. This includes the maturity or partial maturity of the insurance policy and the amount of insurance claims made due to death and health reasons,” Saif Rahman, head of communications, MetLife Bangladesh, told The Business Post.
Claims settlement is an important element of customer satisfaction that insurers have long neglected. In Bangladesh, about 75 per cent of the collected annual premiums go to life insurance companies. The remaining 25 per cent belong to general insurance companies.
According to IDRA sources, the government has taken an initiative to settle death claims on the occasion of the birth cen-tenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. Insurance claim cheques have been distributed under this programme to the family members of those who died of Covid-19. Insurance companies are coming forward to settle death insurance claims following various directives of the regulatory agency IDRA.
Md Zahurul Haque, former managing director of Jiban Bima Corporation, told The Business Post, “Jiban Bima Company does not ignore death claims like other companies. If one is eligible for a death insurance claim, it is paid on time. Recently, many death insurance claims have been paid through Bangabandhu’s Ashar Alo programme,” he added.
As per the Insurance Act 2010, claims have to be settled within 90 days of policy maturity. If the payment is made after 90 days, an additional 5 per cent interest will be payable for the additional period.
There are allegations that many insurance companies have ignored the clause year after year. Insurance companies’ death insurance claim settlement rates are increasing due to IDRA’s move.
In this regard, IDRA Director Md Shah Alam told The Business Post that insurance companies have responded well to the ‘Bangabandhu Ahsar Alo – Bima Dabi Parjobekkhok’ initiative.
“However, due to long-term mismanagement of some agencies, there are still some problems in settlement of claims,” he admitted.
Sheikh Kabir Hossain, president of Bangladesh Insurance Association, said, “IDRA plays a very active role in this regard giv-ing various instructions to each company for settlement of claims.”
“We have directed the life insurance companies from the association to pay death insurance claims on time. We have asked the persons concerned to prepare the documents before the claims mature. At present, there is more transparency than before among the insurance companies, which has resulted in the settlement of more death claims,” he said.
There are 35 private life insurance companies including the state-owned Jiban Bima Corporation in the country.
