LIC of India, a fiasco

Honorable Chairman/ Managing Director

LIC of India

I am a customer of LIC of India, Kottayam Branch II, Kerala. I had mailed you previously in 2013 to convey my grievance with regards to a lapse of my Anmol Jeevan policy No:392615494. The lapse of my policy happened due to my naivity in trusting LIC of India, and its value added services through your portal. I had registered for E-mail and SMS alerts, but in the fated month of payment of premium in 2013, I recieved no notification by post, email or sms. Also I did not recieve any letter or intimation about the lapse from you, and myself did not know about the lapse and lack of coverage, until I checked in to portal for payment.

The ongoing policies I have registered in the portal being . As of now, not a single Mail or SMS alert is received. I am an IT professional, and in my capacity I have installed and serviced Mail and SMS gateways/server in PSUs like BSNL.  It is hardly rocket science to setup and scale a good Mailing/SMS system, only a little sense of dedication and accountability to a cause in sustaining a facility offered by you. By the way, only an Indian PSU can get away by simply informing "SMS alert doesn't work".  On the other hand, I am promptly receiving your marketing mails regularly.

I received a letter from your branch II, Kottayam an offer for revival of lapsed policies with Ref:BO/78V/PS/Revivals, dated 16/08/2014. Kindly note that I recieved the letter on 10/09/2014, at my normal address, in Ettumanoor. You can very well pass on the buck to Postal department for the late delivery and rest assured it is the job of the customer to bear with the insidious ways of both governmental organisations.

Mentioned below is a mail I recieved from Chief Manager, presumably from Kottayam branch, as a reply to my query about waiver of Medical exam charges, which has been refused.

How much ever you hide under the IRDA rules or the claim that "sending reminder/notices are not obligatory on our part", I still contend that I am not responsible for the lapse of my policy. It happened  due to the  incompetence of your IT infrastructure and general mis management and "take it or leave it attitude" towards us, your customers.

Thus, I expect to get policy revived without Medical report requirements or LIC of India bearing the expense of Medical diagnostics on my behalf.

The  below mentioned '############' which is the authorized one to conduct medical examination for LIC, Kottayam is a shabby place, just one of those institutions deriving business from LIC of India, suspect of a liasion between these instition and the LIC agents and officials of LIC, in simply conducting the tests for the namesake, to satisfy the beurocrotic procedures and to generate business for agent and LIC branch, rather than a genuine report to gauge the viability ofthe policy. I have apprehensions about subjecting myself at such a place.

You might be feeling complacent in being a mammoth public sector undertaking with big rural base. But please be warned that you are not going to survive beyond the next decade with the level of accountability you are displaying.

 I being a civilian citizen of India, have reached out and looked at Indian PSUs in awe, reverence and trust. Please don't leave me stranded and regretting about my naivety and ignorance in trusting the workings of a government run organisation.

Warm regards

Nataraj S Narayan