Reckless Rogues Keep Up With Hoodwinks

Misselling of policies continue to plague the industry at large.

- Vishav

Parama Dasgupta, a PR professional from Kolkata in her late 20s, wanted to make a short-term investment and approached an insurance agent. The agent proposed a policy where Dasgupta had to pay three premium of `30,000 each and a maturity period of five years. She was happy with this policy and opted for it. But to her surprise, when the welcome kit arrived, she realised that it was not really a short-term policy and that the agent had misled her. The policy document stated she had to pay seven premium and can withdraw the money only after eight years from the last premium paid.

Feeling cheated, Dasgupta contacted the agent to set a meeting, but he kept delaying it and only showed up after a month. By that time, the free look period of the policy was over and she could no longer surrender it. While the insurance agent assured her that she would be able to withdraw the money after five years, still in doubt, she contacted the customer care only to be left disheartened. She could not contact the insurance agent again who seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth.

There are thousands like Dasgupta who are cheated by insurance agents despite all the regulations in place to protect interests of the policy buyers.

Misselling refers to unfair practices adopted for soliciting and selling insurance. It includes the activity of selling policies, which do not fulfill the financial needs of the customer or the one, which is different from what the customer is actually looking for.

Sharing his views on the same, Anil P.M, Head of Legal and Compliance, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, said that misselling by insurance agents takes place when an agent misrepresents facts and benefits of an insurance policy. It may include giving a wrong picture of product benefits, assuring incorrect guaranteed returns, erroneous premiums, forgery and even holding back terms and conditions of the policy.