Life Insurance Corporation of India [LIC] — Indifference towards customer at the time of payment

Address:

Gurgaon, Haryana, 122009

I had written to your office on indifferent attitude of LIC branch and controlling offices on issue of maturity payment to policy holder. LIC without reading contents of my letter, simply wrote a few lines to me in formality and you closed the complaint lodged with you. There is no use of writing such letter and closure of the case. It is a simple formality . I expect something extraordinary positive from your office which will not only help me but prove to be a boon for all police holders.

Please refer my complaint registered with you a few days ago and take up the matter once again in true spirit. There are some issues which needs drastic change in rules as well as that in attitude of LIC staff.

Highly paid agents of LIC work devotedly at the time of getting new business because they get considerably high amount of commission on premium amount LIC receives. But process of payment on maturiry or on surrender of policy at premature stage is completely left on the mercy of inefficient, unwilled, recalcitrant and indifferent staff.

I bring this matter once again to your attention and hope you will verify the facts and arrange for final payment to me without insisting for visit to issuing Branch. Here it is important to state that when policyholder can deposit premium online by registering all details on LIC portal for so many years without any objection from LIC, why final payment cannot be given online.

Further LIC management should be advised to

A. allow policy holder to apply for payment at place where he lives at the time of maturity.

B. Copy of Necessary annextures and option letter should be made available to policy holder well in advance.

C. Agent or LIC staff should be entrusted the duty to help policy holder in getting payment at their locations as they do at the time of selling a policy.

D. Ever branch must have one or more counter to help policy holders with soft words and due respect which they extend at the time of selling a policy.

E. In the month of March and April when there is big crowd in their branches, number of staff or agent in adequate number should be made available to help policy holders.

F. It is the time that government forms a team of officers to assess and ascertain the standard of services they extend.

G. It should be looked into what market share of LIC us falling year after year and more specifically what LIC is going to do or doing on unclaimed policies and matured policies for convenience of policy holders. Here it is important to say that after 20 or 30 years, great change takes place in physical appearance, signature, location and other inputs of policy holders.

H When banks can allow payment at any branch using CBS tools, why LIC continues to stick to traditional methods for release of payment. And if they cannot serve policy holder to a place other than at issuing Branch, then they should not be permitted to sell a policy to a public servant whole service are subject to transfers. They should be allowed to sell policy to local residents in the command area of branch, say in area of two to five KM radius of branch.

I. Lastly why LIC staff at their branches and particularly in administrative offices are not client friendly?

LIC staff and specially officers who are assigned the duty related yo payment and servicing of various policies should be trained how to serve their clients. As of now, these officers listen to only their agents who give them financial benefits. You may send any person to any branch of LIC to know the ground reality.

I hope you will look into it and arrange for full and final payment of said LI policy not only to me only but make required changes in LIC rules and act to ensure hassle free payment to policy holders.

If LIC does not change in attitude, it will fail as PSU banks are failing slowly, gradually and consistently. LIC is gradually growing weakness due to politically motivated or biased investments .

Achieving target by sacrificing huge amount in form of commission is easy but to earn respectable position in the market is entirely different.

PSU banks became sick only because government of the past during last three decades gave more value to quantity of business than quality of business and this is why they are critically sick now compared to private banks. Infusion of fresh capital by government year after year to ensure survival of PSU banks has become a fashion for eacg government.

Until drastic changes take place from grass root level, periodical surgical operations cannot cure the cancer of LIC or that of PSU banks.

Yours

Danendra

I am reproducing my letters sent in the past

Policy no is

POLICY NO.[protected]

Here I would like to state that I bought the said policy in the year 2004 on motivational logics in favour of policy given by an LIC agent Govind Mishra during my posting at Shaktinagar branch in Sonebhadra district in UP. This policy matures on 28.03.2017 and it is said that it is pension policy under which policy holder can either opt for encashed on maturity or opt for periodical pension.Since my services was subject to transfers, It was told to me that policy can be serviced online from anywhere in the country. I therefore bought the policy and I used to remit premium amount every year online irrespective of my new place of posting. After 13 years police is to mature on 28.03.2017

I wrote nine month ago( 23.05.2016} to LIC shaktinagar to transfer policy documents to Giridih office, but no response came. After much follow up they said that transfer request is accepted only one year before maturity date ( copy of their email of May 2016 is in my record.).

Terms of the policy says that policy holder can demand transfer of policy record at least six month before maturity date. Obviously officer who respinded my letter did not take efoort to know the rule incorporated in police bond .

During last 13 years the said agent left services to LIC and I after facing so many transfers got retired from services and settled at my home town .

I wrote to LIC to surrender the policy at Giridih or Gurgaon office for final payment. I wrote to Zonal office Lucknow and Varanasi too.

Officer from Lucknow office refused to accede to my request and advised to send policy papers with necessary annexture, declaration and ID proofs to issuing office at Shaktinagar either in person for by post. When I talked to them on phone, response was humiliating and disheartening. Mobile number of two officers are with me.

LIC has not sent any information to me during last 13 years, did not send copy of annexture and did not inform list of documents required for payment. Then how policy holder can submit the required documents and option letters.

I approached Giridih branch of LIC but unfortunately none of staff entertained my request. They simply ignored me.

Lastly I with the help of a local friend asked to two staff for copy of annexture, option letter and discharge vouchers etc which are needed for final payment. He informed that the policy is now outdated and they do not have specimen copy of required papers and advised me to go to Shaktinagar Branch.

They further added that none of LIC staff will give you time in the month of March for processing of maturity value or surrender value and after maturity date you cannot ask for full payment and only pension is to be paid to me and that too if I furnish required option letter and other papers. Policy bond does not mention this fact and therefore my demand for full and final payment is justified and their (LIC) denial is arbitrary and whimsical.

Obviously I could not get payment despite all efforts and I will be forced to opt for pension if I visit LIC shaktinagar preferably in the month of May when work of closing is over. Here i would like to add that for medicsl treatment I want full and final payment of policy and not pension as insisted by LIS staff.

It is crystal clear after reading aforesaid story that none of LIC office is ready to listen to request of policy holder when payment is due.

At the time of buying a policy, agent of LIC may give as much time as required for selling a policy and as soon as it is sold, none of the agent will come to rescue of policy holders.

LIC officer from even Zonal office has sent a hard line reply leaving no place for flexibility.

It appears to me that those people who are buying long term policy from LIC for availing tax concessions are actually inviting problem for their old age .

Everyone who desire to buy a LIC policy should stop for a while, consider pros and cons of the policy, honesty and integrity of Agents who show rosy picture of the policy and run away at the time of payment and lastly whether there will be anyone to help you in old age when your policy matures. Or you like to surrender it to meet your financial need or when a death claim arises unfortunately.

My experience says that when you face any problem, none of your known agents will come to your rescue. None of staff working in offices of LIC will give you a patient listening and none of higher officials will help you in any respect. Officers sitting at top posts in fact are same agents and development officers who misguided you in the beginning for getting business from you.. Hundreds of agents will come to you when you intend to buy a policy, but not a single agent will solve your problem if at all it arises in future.