insurance fraud
Cases of insurance related fraud are increasing rapidly in the country, in which fraudsters are luring people for refund by pretending to be insurance ombudsman or government representatives. In a recent case, a person received a call that his life insurance policy of ₹ 50,000 taken in 2009, which had later lapsed, had now increased to ₹ 5 lakh and the government wanted to return this amount. But the condition was kept that first he would have to buy a new policy, only then the money would be transferred and he would get it back within 30 days.
According to insurance experts, this is a completely fraudulent method and nowadays most frauds are taking place on this pattern. Fraudsters often obtain old policy data in some way or the other. They have information about the name of the policyholder, insurance company, year of taking the policy and even the premium, which makes their words seem trustworthy.
Vigilance lifted, accident occurred
The reality is that no government body, insurance regulator or insurance ombudsman calls policyholders to give refunds. Neither does the government call anyone directly, nor does it ask to buy a new policy for refund, nor does it ask to deposit the money. Experts say that things like the government returning your insurance money are said only to trap people.
As per insurance policy rules, if a normal (non-ULIP) policy lapses and there is no surrender value built in, the money is generally not refunded. Whereas in ULIP policy, the fund value is kept in the Discontinuation Fund, which can be withdrawn after five years with some deductions. In any case, it is not possible for ₹50,000 to automatically become ₹5 lakh.
Do not trust unknown calls
Experts recommend that for any information related to the policy, only contact the official website of the insurance company or customer care. Do not trust unknown calls, do not share OTP or documents and do not make any payment in the name of refund. This case once again warns that greed and haste in insurance related matters often lead to fraud. Be cautious, check and trust only official channels.