We often come across case where senior citizens have been deceived into buying health insurance plans and it has clearly been a case of fraud. Getting insurance has never been easy, considering the prospective policy holder has to understand myriad rules and regulations that come with it and senior citizens are often not very well versed about them and are considered the easiest target by unscrupulous insurance companies.
What makes the scenario far more complicated is that the insurance sellers exert a kind of emotional pressure on the consumer, often scare them into imagining a bleak future and assure them that their investment product would be the safest and most viable solution to all their problems of old age but when the time comes, the policyholder finds themselves high and dry. There have been innumerable instances where the relationship managers have been involved with such fraudulent activities and after having made a substantial profit at the expense of a hapless old person, quit his job and removed his traces.
The nature of some mis-sellings is varied. Some have been given complimentary health insurance on opting for an FD only to find that huge amounts were being debited each month from the savings account towards the payment of premiums. What is worse than the same person may be duped again and again with promises being varied to suit the interest of the banks and health insurance companies. In other instances, policyholders may be forced into buying tax-saving insurance schemes but when the time comes, they may realize there are no tax saving options on them as they were told during the purchase of the insurance.
Some health insurance policies or even other investments might promise recovery of the full amount at times of need but are told about a lock-in period when they actually need the money. Policies are often taken out in the names of relatives and signatures are forged as well. Moreover, the insurance companies lure the policyholders into buying policies with large premiums without bothering to check whether they have an income suitable for paying such premiums. They start the policy and when the policyholder is unable to pay the subsequent premiums due to the lack of funds, the policy is often declared null and void and all the money that had been spent as premiums up to that point is lost.
For senior citizens who are mostly dependent on pensions for their income, it becomes all the more difficult to cope with a lot of added expenses and they become easy targets if an insurance company tells them that they would be securing a good future if they invest with them. The relationship managers will overstate the facts just to meet their own targets and gain incentives. To avoid such unpleasant scenarios, it is important that a better regulatory framework is put into place so that fraudulent bankers and insurance companies fear repercussions.
The Insurance Ombudsman often refuses to look into complaints on the grounds that the complaint period had passed and such regulations should be made more flexible. Moreover one should educate oneself and do their own research before believing just what the insurance seller is selling.
We at Insurance Samadhan have been able to help many senior citizens who were a victim of Insurance Fraud or Mis-selling. If you too are looking for help related to your insurance policy or have an insurance related grievance, reach out to us https://www.insurancesamadhan.com/register
