Complaint Handling.
In a vast Organization like LIC, catering to the various needs and aspirations of millions of policyholders, grievances of customers do arise occasionally. In order to redress these grievances LIC has established elaborate Grievance Rederessal Machinery and the details are as under.
1) Grievance Redressal Officers:
Grievance Redressal Officers have been designated at all levels of the Organization: At the Branch level: The Sr/Branch Manager
At the Divisional level: The Marketing Manager
At the Zonal level:
The Regional Manager (Marketing) in case of Ordinary policies.
The Regional Manager (Pension and Group Schemes) in case of P&GS.
At the Central level:
The Addl. Executive Director/Chief (Marketing/Customer Services) in case of Ordinary policies.
Chief (Pension and Group Schemes) in case of P & GS policies.
Policyholders can personally contact these designated Officials and seek redressal of their grievances.
The respective Grievance Redressal Officers are available at their Offices for personal interviews with the customers on all Mondays between 2.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. without prior appointment.
Customers can meet the Grievance Redressal Officers on other days also with prior appointment.
The names of the Grievance Redressal Officers are displayed in the respective Offices and are periodically published in the local
II) Complaint Cells:
For those customers who are not in a position to meet the Grievance Redressal Officers in person, a Complaint Cell is functioning at the Central, Zonal and Divisional Offices. They can send their written complaints to these Offices. Such complaints are registered and monitored with the respective servicing units for proper redressal.
III) Claims Review Committee:
In a few cases of death claims, LIC is put to the necessity of repudiating them to safeguard the interest of the genuine policyholders. Claimants who are dissatisfied with the decision of repudiation of claim can approach the Claims Review Committees set up at all the seven Zonal Offices and at the Central Office. These Committees comprise of senior Officials of the Corporation and also retired High Court/District Judges and they review the claims objectively and dispassionately to rule out any miscarriage of justice to the claimant.
IV) Complaints received through the Government:
Some of the aggrieved policyholders write directly to the Government of India seeking redressal of their grievances. Such grievances are attended to on a top priority basis. For this purpose, a special cell has been set up at the Central Office level for monitoring and for satisfactory redressal.
V) Policyholder Councils and Zonal Advisory Boards:
In all the 100 Divisional Centers, Policyholders’ Councils have been established. Three policyholders of the area represent the interest of the policyholders and interact with the Divisional Management on consumer concerns. Similarly, at all the seven Zonal Centers, Zonal Advisory Boards are functioning. Many consumer-activists are inducted as Members to these Forums to protect the rights of the consumers.
VI) Consumer Affairs Committee:
A Consumer Affairs Committee has been constituted at the Board level with many eminent consumer activists and members of public joining as members along with the Chairman and the Managing Directors of the Corporation. This Committee looks into various areas of consumer interests and advises the Corporation.
VII) Citizens’ Charter:
LIC has adopted a Citizens Charter through which it reiterates its commitments to the customers and the standards for general procedures, the standards for policy servicing, the standards for easy access to information for customers and the standards for fairness in dealing with the customers have been laid down.
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