MOU signing ceremony between AirSial and United Insurance Company at AirSIAL’s corporate office, Sialkot
UIC Corporate Briefing Session 2019 held on Sept. 30, 2020 at PSX, Karachi
Mediation Offered by FIO and Provision for Free of Cost Justice
The event “Mediation Offered by FIO and Provision for Free of Cost Justice,” was addressed by by former Judge of Supreme Court of Pakistan, Justice (retd) Athar Saeed, Commissioner of SECP, Shozab Ali, Chief Risk Officer, I.G.I. Life Insurance Faisal Khan and Federal Insurance Ombudsman, Dr. Khawar Jameel.
Speakers were of the unanimous view that the industry held tremendous potential in the country yet its share to the national economy was extremely inadequate, coming to mere 0.8% – lowest against almost every other country in the region.
Ombudsman, Dr. Khawar Jameel on the occasion referred to steps taken by his office to address the situation and application of mediation as a mean to resolve disputes, if any, between the insurance companies and the policy holders.
This approach, he said had significantly helped addressing the grievances of the people with the hope that once confidence is restored, people would be adequately attracted towards the industry that can appear to be an important source of promoting the culture of savings.
Mentioning that his office is offering free of cost justice to the complainants through extensive application of mediation, Dr. Jameel said all this is done within 60 days of time hence protecting parties against any unnecessary inconvenience due to procedural delays.
“My priority since assuming the responsibility has been mediation and not persecution and this approach to get amicably settled the disputes between insurance companies and the policy holders has proven to be almost equally beneficial for each of the parties,” he claimed.
According to him while significant increase was registered in settlement of disputes and needed relief provided to the complainant, the insurance companies were also witnessed to gain marked improvement in their business.
Justice (retd) Athar Saeed, appreciated the proactive approach adopted by the FIO agreed that mediation is definitely an efficient and cost effective tool to resolve disputes, however, reminded that there are certain aspects that require applications of other relevant methods too.
Complications were cited to be also registered in different categories including general insurance and so-forth that through incorporation of certain clauses in relevant laws could be addressed.
The senior legal expert, who had also served thrice as President of Income Tax Bar Association in 1991, 1919 and 2000, maintained that use of common sense and logical reasoning remains to be the key to ensure justice at varied levels.
Souce: APP