Insurance regulator issues guidelines on complaints handling

The regulator of the insurance industry, Insurance Board of Sri Lanka (IBSL),has issued ‘Guidelines on complaints handling by insurers and brokers’ on 1October. 

The guidelines have been issuedwith the objective of facilitating that the policies and procedures are in place for timely and fair handling of complaints by insurance companies and insurance brokering companies, in order to ensure fair treatment of customers.

The guidelinesrequire the companies to put in place a complaints management policy and to publish a complaints handling procedure for the information of consumers.

Guidelines also require insurers and brokers to maintain records of complaints and to analyse root causes for same in order to further improve their quality of service. 

Issuance of these guidelines is also in line with the object and responsibility of IBSL to ensure that the insurance business in Sri Lanka is carried on with integrity and in a professional and prudent manner with a view to safeguarding the interest of the policyholders.

The guidelinesare published on the website of IBSL (www.ibsl.gov.lk).