General insurers should put in place a robust system to register all requests of individual crop-loss assessment, said the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
“Where a request for individual loss assessment is rejected, a written rejection letter mentioning the reason should be sent to the insured. For all other cases, loss assessment survey should be done as per the prescribed norms,” said Yegnapriya Bharath, Chief General Manager (non-life), in a communication to the general insurers.
Crop insurance claims
The guidelines were issued in the wake of various complaints to the regulator in respect of crop insurance claims. According to the guidelines, the companies should designate an authorised person for each cluster, who should be a senior-level officer with sufficient decision-making powers for the smooth implementation of crop insurance.
“Insurance companies must ensure proper representation in crop insurance meetings that may be called for by the relevant stakeholders,” the regulator said, adding that deployment of adequate manpower for each cluster should be ensured.
Co-observing crop-cutting experiments and allied activities, and liaisoning with the State governments, are among the other measures suggested to the insurers.