Recognising the role of Federal Insurance Ombudsman as the relevant forum for Public Sector Insurance Industry

Access to inexpensive and expeditious justice is a fundamental right of the citizen and governments are under obligation to improve access to justice and provide the adequate resources to the judiciary.
The role of an administrative justice institution like that of the Ombudsman becomes crucially important for such strata of society that cannot afford to seek remedies through the formal judicial system.
The year 2016 marked the successful accomplishment of the decade long service of Federal Insurance Ombudsman for building strong relationship with the public and servicing the complainants preferably with amicable settlements within the stipulated time frame without expenditure.
Federal Insurance Ombudsman is an institution which provides speedy and free of cost justice to the affectees under the Insurance Ordinance 2000 and Federal Ombudsman Institutional Reforms Act 2013.
Basically, Federal Insurance Ombudsman's vision is to provide judicious protection of interest of stakeholders in Insurance industry by way of providing free of charge, informal, amicable and efficient resolution mechanism to address grievances of insured.
Federal Insurance Ombudsman is a forum available to the affectees of the Insurance companies to get their grievances resolved with no cost to pay; unlike other judicial forums engaged in dispensation of justice.
Federal Insurance Ombudsman continues to facilitate its complainants through the service mindset. The first Federal Insurance Ombudsman was appointed in 2006 under the Insurance Ordinance 2000.
Federal Insurance Ombudsman is vested with the powers to resolve disputes between the insured policy holders and the Insurance Company that provides the Insurance cover.
Federal Insurance Ombudsman exercises his jurisdiction over the complaints against Insurance companies other than the public sector insurance companies from across the country.
The Insurance market is divided into two major categories of life and general insurance. State life Insurance corporation, Postal life Insurance and Pakistan Reinsurance Company Limited enjoys lion share of the life insurance business in the industry. Whereas, large number of private Insurance companies are also engaged in life Insurance business, having 45% share in this sector.
The Insurance Ordinance 2000 virtually mandates that all maladministration complaints pertaining to Insurance companies should be referred to the Federal Insurance Ombudsman as a relevant forum available for seeking expeditious resolution of complaints. Currently, even after the establishment of Federal Insurance Ombudsman since 2006, huge number of complaints pertaining to Life Insurance Business are being dealt continuously by Federal Ombudsman instead of Federal Insurance Ombudsman, which is a relevant remedy provider forum for the resolution of such complaints.
Although as per relevant legislation such type of complaints should be processed by the Federal Insurance Ombudsman, in a similar manner like Federal Tax Ombudsman who deals with complaints pertaining to functionaries of Federal Board of Revenue. Besides, all the complaints related to the National Bank of Pakistan, which is a state owned bank, comes under the jurisdiction of Banking Ombudsman.
Likewise, complaints pertaining to all the Insurance companies including State Life Corporation ought to be dealt by the Federal Insurance Ombudsman and not by Federal Ombudsman as complaints relating to Insurance claims do not fall into the jurisdiction of Federal Ombudsman after the office of the Federal Insurance Ombudsman was established in 2006.
It is very important that the relief being provided by FIO to the insurance policy holders is strengtheing the insurance business and is also beneficial for the insurance companies as the policy holders will have a greater faith and confidence to get his genuine and legitmate insurance claim.
(The writer is Media Consultant to Federal Insurance Ombudsman)