Complaints related to insurance claims settlement on the rise: NIA

KATHMANDU, Aug 7: Nepali insurance companies are found dilly dallying on settlement of claims of their clients, as Nepal Insurance Authority (NIA) has been receiving an increasing number of complaints related to the issue in recent years.

The records with the NIA show the authority registered 244 complaints against insurers in the fiscal year 2023/24 compared to 155 complaints filed in the previous year. The number was 57.41 percent more in the review period.

The number of complaints that NIA received has been in the rising trend in the past few years.  In FY 2018/19, the regulator filed 100 cases on the issue, which went up to 126 and 137 cases in the two consecutive years. Similarly, there were 155 cases filed against insurers in FY 2021/22.

According to the NIA officials, most of the complaints were against non-life insurers. Dissatisfaction on damaged amounts fixed by surveyors and deviation on the claimed amount and actually paid amount were among the issues that the beneficiaries mentioned mostly in their complaints.

According to the NIA, it settled 150 cases related to misappropriation in insurance claims in the last FY. As of now, a total of 437 cases are under consideration.