Good news for policyholders: IRDAI proposes surveyors for motor claims only above Rs 75,000

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Soon, motor insurance claims of up to Rs 75,000 will not require any assessment of losses by a surveyor. This will mean that motor insurance claims will be quickly settled since there will no requirement of appointment of a surveyors up to a certain limit.

At present, claims above Rs 50,000 for motor insurance and Rs 1 lakh for others qualify for the services of insurance surveyors and loss assessors.

When a surveyor is appointed for assessing a claim, they get 30 days to review the filed claim and submit the report. This delays the claim processing since any settlement will be made by an insurer only after the report is reviewed.

A draft proposal by Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has talked about enhancing loss limits for appointment of surveyors in motor insurance to above Rs 75,000 and all others to Rs 1,50,000 for all others.

Earlier, two committees, namely the Malhotra Committee as well as Bhandari Committee, suggested in their reports to enhance the loss limits, required to be subject to survey. These committees also suggested that the manpower available within insurance companies should be utilised upto the loss limits so that such claims are settled expeditiously.

The Insurance Act 1938, mandated the licensing of surveyors and loss assessors for settlement of losses above Rs 20,000 reported under a policy of general insurance. This was later increased considering the rise in claims losses in non-life policies due to inflation.

The insurance regulator has also simplified the process for licensing of surveyors and loss assessors. IRDAI has proposed that any existing licence holder, or any person who has already enrolled as trainee and has passed the required examination need not take another pre-licensing examination.