Max Life Insurance overtakes LIC in terms of claims settlement in FY 2017-18, shows IRDAI data

Max Life Insurance has surpassed state-owned insurer Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) in terms of claims settlement ratio in FY18, according to the data released by IRDAI.

“Four years ago, 50 percent of the rejected claims would be fraudulent claims,” said V Viswanand, Deputy Managing Director, Max Life. “Most fraudulent claims occur due to the lapses in the underwriting process,” he added further.

Viswanand said that the insurer has introduced many checks and balances to strengthen the customer application and underwriting process.

Claim Settlement Ratio Comparison:

"Technology plays an important role in ensuring that we don’t have to deal with fraudulent claims later,” Viswanand added.

In FY18, Max Life settled 98.26 percent of individual death claims while LIC settled 98.04 percent, according to IRDAI data. Tata AIA settled 98 percent claims while ICICI Prudential settled 97.88 percent claims.

Fraudulent claims filed to Max Life Insurance have come down to a minuscule percent of the total claims (just 3 out of the total 173 claims rejected by the company were fraudulent claims).

Representational Image. Thinkstock

The insurer is now focusing on the second big factor affecting the claim settlement – ‘non-disclosure of terminal illnesses’.

According to IRDAI's annual report, LIC's market share fell below 70 percent in the financial year ended March 2018 as private insurers get more aggressive.

The market share of private insurers increased to 30.64 percent in 2017-18, from 28.19 percent in 2016-17.

"On the basis of total premium income, the market shares of LIC decreased from 71.81 percent in 2016-17 to 69.36 percent in 2017-18," said the annual report.

With PTI inputs

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