Feb 15, 2003 06:22 PM
22609 Views
(Updated Feb 16, 2003 07:15 PM)
Since last three years, I have paying my New India Assurance's Mediclaim Policy's (policy no. 112000/48/01/08342; agent code 494/89057) annual premium through an agent Kirit Shingada ( http://www.insuremagic.com/kiritshingada)who operates 'Lifetime Insurance Services Pvt. Ltd' (life insurance agent with LIC and general insurance agent with NIA) at Lokhandwala Township, Kandivli East, Bombay.
My policy period being from Feb 26 of one year to Feb 25 of the next year, I have to make premium payments in January or latest in February.
Last year (2002), I submitted the cheque payable to NIA and containing the requisite premium amount to Kirit Shingada in the last week of January. It took more than a month for this agent to just provide me with the receipt towards the payment. I got the receipt from this agent only in March.
This year, again, I have made the premium payment to him on January 18 (my bank account was debited on January 29) and it is February 15 as I write this review and I have not received the receipt of NIA from him.
This is unfortunate. It leads to unnecessary delay in submitting the receipt (which serves as proof of insurance premium payment) to my employer who requires it to calculate my final tax obligation that it will deduct from my salary in the last two months of the current financial year ending March 31, 2003.
When I asked this agent about the delay, he told me that it is ok for him to take a month or more to provide the receipt because ''NIA takes 15 days to give the receipt''. This is untrue as four years back I used to pay my NIA Mediclaim premium payment (when I was dealing with another agent) directly at one NIA branch in Churchgate and received the receipt on the same day!
I have decided this is the last year I will deal with this agent. I also plan to check other general insurance companies, particularly from the private sector, like HDFC (which may come out with a joint venture in general insurance like it already has in life insurance through HDFC Standard Life Insurance) or Sundaram (which has already started into general insurance). More likely than not, I will let my NIA mediclam expire in February next year, and will go for a private sector general insurance medical policy.
Rajesh Gajra
Bombay
rgajra@vsnl.com
