IT in Insurance

My latest infatuation with Information Technology (IT) compels me to write on this subject area.

We have seen that the last seven years have been very vibrant for insurance industry. There has been an immense change in the way business is conducted. From monopolistic regime to cut-throat competition, the entire paradigm of business has not only shifted but actually been hurtled into a completely fresh orbit. Customer’s ecstasy has replaced customer’s delight.

Since life insurance is a marathon and not a hundred-meter race, with long term commitments, management of data is a Herculean task that every company struggles with, and tries to overcome. Hats off to LIC for their manual management system of the past; it is almost impossible to imagine today that countless people laboriously pored over manual books to maintain some sense of order and design, and pretty well managed design and order at that!

However, converting to IT systems is not merely about feeding data into a lifeless computer so that it can churn out the receipts and policies and sundry other things at the click of a button though the importance of that also cannot be ever ignored. With customer’s expectation risen manifolds (from proposal sourcing to underwriting to issuance to renewal collections to any alterations to maturity proceeds or death claims), it is imperative that these things are well taken care of. But at the end of the day, in today’s fierce scenario, it is merely a hygiene factor, and not something to really gloat over.

Section 108 of Indian Evidence Act, 1872 – what the courts said

Let me share a Supreme Court judgment with respect to a death claim which I found very interesting and informative.

You would agree that death is one of the stark realities of life. It is the ultimate truth. Everything in life is uncertain after birth; death is an exception and is certain to happen in one’s life.

But there may be situations where the exact time and manner of death of a person cannot be ascertained or known. Say for example, a person suddenly disappears and his whereabouts are not known thereafter, despite reasonable efforts of his near and dear relatives or people who ought to have known about his existence in the normal course had he been alive.

In such a situation, the question arises as to when the nominees of the missing insured can lay a claim to the benefits of the policies and what their obligations are. Are they bound to continue to pay premium? If so how long are they bound to make payment, and when does the law presume the death of such an insured?