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M..Ramesh

CHENNAI, Dec. 2

THE public sector general insurance companies have finally resolved the problem they have been having with Mercury International Assistance & Claims Ltd, an international Third Party Administrator (TPA), based in the US.

This means that Mercury will process the claims of those who have taken an overseas mediclaim policy from the Indian insurance companies.

In the last few months, many complaints have come from Indians who had to undergo medical treatment, while travelling in the US— that the hospitals demanded full payment in cash in advance, as they did not anymore deal with Mercury International.

(Otherwise, the patients could have undergone treatment by just producing their mediclaim card, Mercury would have paid the hospital and the insurance company would have reimbursed Mercury.)

So, many of those who had the misfortune of falling sick in the US had to go through the trauma of having to arrange for money alongside the problem of their sickness.

A case in example is that of Mrs Neeta Bahl of Chennai, who broke her ankle in California. The day before her surgery, Mrs Bahl was told to pay up for the surgery and treatment in full.

Mrs Bahl then contacted Mercury Insurance, which told her that to go ahead and pay up, and they would reimburse her later. But this is precisely what did not happen. The problem, apparently, was over the payment of fees to Mercury by the Indian companies.

Mrs Bahl's insurer, National Insurance Company, wrote to her saying that "the contention of Mercury International that we have not paid them their fees or replenished the claims float is totally not tenable".

The letter further stated, "We apprehend that this situation has arisen due to the fact that we have appointed a new TPA, Corris International, for servicing the overseas health insurance policies".

In a latter communication, National Insurance said that "Mercury International has assured GIPSA that all action to ensure clearance of pending claims in the shortest possible time".

But now, the "problem is resolved," according to Mr V Jagannathan, Chairman, General Insurance (Public Sector) Association of India (GIPSA).

Industry sources feel that the way the "Mercury International problem" was handled is by itself an example of changed imes. "The overseas medical portfolio is lucrative and the private sector companies have made some inroads into it. No wonder the GIPSA has acted with alacrity," says Mr N Raveendran, Director, Alegion Risk Management Services, an insurance brokerage firm.

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