President directs State Life to improve policy on pre-insurance medical tests

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has directed the State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan (SLCIP) to improve its policy on medical tests before the issuance of Life Insurance policies to prospecting policyholders.

He asked SLICP to constitute a panel of doctors which should suggest as to what were the most prevalent and common diseases in Pakistan and what tests should be conducted before the issuance of policy.

The President gave these orders in view of the fact that a number of representations were being filed with the President by the insurance companies, as well as, citizens in cases where insurance companies were denying the payment of death insurance claims to family members of the insured policyholders on the ground that they had wilfully hidden ailments at the time of obtaining the policy.

The payments were being refused despite the fact that the policies had been issued after the policyholders had been declared medically fit by the authorized medical officers as well as the field officers of the insurance companies.

The President on Sunday issued these directions while rejecting two separate representations filed by SLICP against the decisions of the Wafaqi Mohtasib (WM) directing it to pay Rs 3.68 million to the family members of two policyholders to whom SLICP had denied payment on account of them hiding pre-insurance ailments.

As per details, Muhammad Yousaf and Ms Abida Bibi had obtained life insurance policies from SLICP for the sums assured of Rs 3,485,000 and Rs 200,000, respectively.

After their deaths, their family members approached SLICP for the payment of insurance claims but SLICP refused to pay them the respective amounts on the ground that they were patients of diseases, such as Hepatitis C, chronic kidney disease, heart condition and hypertension and they did not disclose the existence of these ailments before SLICP.

Feeling aggrieved, the family members separately filed complaints with the Wafaqi Mohtasib, which passed the orders in their favour. SLICP, then, filed representations with the President, which were rejected.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023