Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has instructed the LIC chairman to help poor policy-holders of micro insurance companies such as LIC Jeevan Madhur and Jeevan Mangal, who were cheated by an NGO by “not repaying the premium amount to LIC” in Karimnagar district.
The Karimnagar Consumers’ Council had written a letter to the Union Finance Minister recently, seeking her intervention to help the poor villagers who got enrolled under the micro insurance policies.
Accordingly, the Union Ministry under secretary Umesh Chandra had written a letter to the LIC chairman for payment of a premium amount to the policy-holders as per the directions of the Karimnagar Consumers Forum.
In the letter, Karimnagar Consumers’ Council leader N. Srinivas had stated that the LIC had appointed an NGO, Good Hearts Association, for collection of premium of micro insurance policies from villagers. But, the NGO had paid only 60% of the premium amount of various policies to the LIC and swindled the remaining 40%, denying insurance coverage to the policy-holders.
The consumers’ council had been fighting for justice for the over 10,000 poor policy-holders in the district since 2015 and filed four cases in the Karimnagar Consumer Forum on behalf of 300 people.
The district forum had instructed LIC to return the premium amount along with interest to the policy-holders. When LIC approached the State commission in Hyderabad, it had also instructed the former to comply with the Karimnagar forum’s directive.
However, LIC had paid premium amount to only 300 people and neglected the other policy-holders, he said.
The Karimnagar Consumers’ Council had urged LIC and the Union government to see that all the policy-holders, allegedly cheated by the NGO, get the premium amount along with the interest rate.
