From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: President Dr Arif Alvi, on Wednesday, termed due diligence and transparency in the bank insurance as vital for increasing quantum of public investments in the sector and thereby strengthening the economy.
He addressing a conference titled “Transparency in Bancassurance and Role of Ombudsman” here at Governor House said that attractive insurance and banking products would not only enhance public confidence in the “bancassurance” sector but also assure increased liquidity in the economy.
Providing a regulatory framework for growth and transparency in banking and insurance industries was responsibility of state, the president maintained and urged the insurance industry to improve checks and balances and filtering mechanisms to conduct due diligence before the issuance of insurance policies to policyholders, besides honouring insurance claims in a timely and transparent manner.
He stressed the need of strengthening the insurance sector and enhancing its contribution to GDP of the country and said that the share of the insurance sector in Pakistan’s economy was less than 1% whereas in other countries of the region it was around 3%.
Dr. Alvi said that the insurance sector could offer profitable products for the general public to incentivise savings by individuals for profitable investments and to support the economy simultaneously.
He also called for moving the money parked in the real estate sector to other productive sectors of the economy to keep the wealth of the nation in circulation. New products like crop insurance and social insurance should be introduced in the wake of the current climatic situation, he suggested.
Highlighting the significance of transparency, the president said that accurate information about the insurance policies should be provided to people at the time of selling the policy so that confidence of people could be enhanced in insurance products and services.
He further said that best practices should be adopted by the sales force of the insurance and banking sector to win the trust of the clientele through fair play.
Federal Insurance Ombudsman, Khawar Jameel, briefing about performance and growth of the organisation informed that monetary relief to the tune of Rs 2.57 billion had been provided to the complainants during the last year.
This has been achieved through amicable dispute resolution and an effective complaint redressal system at FIO, he added.
The event, organized by the Federal Insurance Ombudsman, was attended by the Federal Banking Ombudsman, Kamran Shahzad, Chairman Insurance Association of Pakistan Muhammad Hussain Hirji, and officials and representatives from the banking and insurance industry.
Earlier, the president also distributed the cheques among the complainants who got their insurance disputes resolved through Federal Insurance Ombudsman.
