Key Takeaways
- SECP suggests increasing the number of Insurance Tribunals for equitable geographical distribution.
- A publicly available list of designated Insurance Tribunals will be published to enhance transparency.
- SECP recommends enhancing the SECP XS Portal into an Integrated Insurance Grievance Management System.
The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has recommended an increase in the number of Insurance Tribunals to ensure equitable geographical distribution across the provinces, thereby improving access to justice for policyholders.
The SECP has issued a report titled ‘Strengthening Insurance Grievance Redressal in Pakistan: Current Status and Strategic Way Forward’ recommending that a publicly available and regularly updated list of Session Courts designated as Insurance Tribunals be published to enhance transparency.
The timely appointment of the chairperson and technical member is essential to ensure the continuation and effective functioning of the tribunals, according to the SECP.
To strengthen the implementation of decisions of the Federal Insurance Ombudsman, the SECP recommends that it effectively exercise its powers under the applicable law and periodically disclose the status of implementation of decisions on its website and issue periodic reports.
Insurance companies are advised to ensure full compliance with Circular No. 7 of 2023 by clearly and prominently communicating grievance redressal procedures, including the timelines for complaint resolution, to enable policyholders to understand when they can expect a resolution.
To improve operational efficiency, reduce manual intervention, and strengthen regulatory oversight, the SECP XS Portal may be enhanced into an Integrated Insurance Grievance Management System that serves as a centralized, industry-wide insurance grievance database and a comprehensive grievance monitoring and redress management platform for the SECP.
Under the proposed framework, policyholders would lodge complaints directly against insurers through the XS Portal, enabling insurers to investigate and respond within the prescribed timelines through the same platform.
Where a complaint is not resolved within the pre-defined timeline or if the complainant remains dissatisfied with the insurer’s response, the complaint could be escalated electronically to the SECP for regulatory intervention, thereby creating a seamless end-to-end digital complaint resolution process while significantly reducing manual correspondence.
