Forced and mis-selling of insurance policy
Guest
(Querist) 29 November 2013
This query is : Resolved
I AM A HOME LOAN CUSTOMER OF ICICI BANK.I HAVE BEEN MISGUIDED BY ICICI BANK SALES PERSON WHO MISGUIDED ME AT THE TIME OF SIGNING SANCTION LETTER WITH A TOP UP LOAN SANCTION LETTER.LATER ON WHEN I CAME TO KNOW ABOUT THIS TOP UP LOAN, I ASKED THE SALES PERSON ABOUT THE SAME HE SAID THAT IT WILL BE USED FOR INSURANCE POLICY. I TOLD THE SALES PERSON THAT I WAS UNAWARE ABOUT THE POLICY SO PLEASE CANCEL AS I DON'T WANT IT BUT HE KEPT ON FORCING ME THAT THIS IS COMPULSARY. HE ALSO EXPLAINED ME THAT THIS POLICY WILL HELP YOU IN CASE YOU FAIL TO PAY HOME LOAN DUE TO HEALTH PROBLEMS,LOSS IN BUSINESS AND IN CASE OF DEATH IT WILL PAY OFF YOUR OUTSTANDING DUES. I TOLD HIM THAT THIS TYPE OF CROSS SELLING IS NOT ALLOWED BY RBI AND ALSO TOLD HIM THAT IF THIS IS THE CONDITION I WILL NOT TAKE THE LOAN. AFTER THIS SALES PERSON TOLD SIR PLEASE DONT CANCEL THE LOAN I WILL CANCEL THE POLICY. ON 28/11/2013 I RECEIVED AN SMS FROM ICICI PRUDENTIAL STATING POLICY NO AND POLICY NAME, I HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY POLICY KIT TILL NOW. WHEN I READ ABOUT THIS HOME PROTECT POLICY TERMS AND CONDITIONS ON ICICI PRU WEBSITE I CAME TO KNOW THAT THIS POLICY ONLY COVERS DEATH(NATURAL DEATH IS NOT COVERED) AND NOT ANY OTHER PROBLEM WHICH I WAS TOLD ABOUT THIS POLICY BY BANK. IN THIS CASE I AM MISGUIDED IN 2 WAYS. FIRSTLY THE POLICY IS FORCIBLY GIVEN TO ME AND SECONDLY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF POLICY COMMUNICATED TO ME WERE FALSE. WHEN I CONTATCTED MY BRANCH THEY ARE SAYING THAT IT WILL NOT BE CANCELLED AT ANY COST AS IT IS ATTACHED WITH LOAN. I ALSO APPROACHED ICICI BANK CUSTOMER CARE FOR MY PROBLEM FIRSTLY THEY SAID INSURANCE IS NOT MANDATORY BUT AFTER TALKING TO MY BRANCH THEY ARE SAYING ITS MANDATORY IN YOUR CASE. I ALSO APPROACHED ICICI PRUDENTIAL TO CANCEL INSURANCE POLICY THEY ARE SAYING THAT FOR CANCELLING THIS POLICY OR EXCERCISING FREE LOOK PERIOD YOU NEED NOC FROM YOUR BANK AND ICICI BANK IS NOT GIVING ME NOC FOR CANCELLING THIS POLICY. I AM VERY FRUSTRATED WITH THE BANKS BEHAVIOUR AND REQUEST YOU TO GUIDE ME HOW CAN I GET OUT OF THIS PROBLEM.
Kumar Doab
(Expert) 30 November 2013
You do not need any NOC from anyone to cancel a life insurance policy.
You can escalate to Chairman of the bank and IRDA.
You may desist from verbal transactions and adopt the written mode.
You may narrate all representations made by you ( attach a list and quote the names, phone numbers, address, etc) and conclude that unheard of excuses are being given and you are being prevented to cancel the policy.
Have you received the policy schedule/document/bond?
Within 15 days of FLC cancel the policy under proper acknowledgment.
You may immediately demand in writing under acknowledgment the authenticated copies of all loan documents that are put up before you and signed by you including this top up loan.
The bank is liable to supply you the:
documents provided by banks:
• letter of offer
• copy of filled in loan application
• copy of loan agreement
• terms and conditions governing the housing loan
• other documents such as schedule of fees and charges
Banks are required to give authenticated copies of documents executed by you free of charge. (cf. para 8.11.1 of Code of bank’s Commitment to Customers)
Guest
(Querist) 30 November 2013
the bank has taken a assignment on the policy in its favor.now how to proceed
malipeddi jaggarao
(Expert) 30 November 2013
Mr.Mohta - It is not correct to say cross-selling is not allowed by RBI. Bank do cover the life of loanees especially the repayment period runs for a long time to hedge the risk failure of repayment on account of sudden death of the loanee. The terms of policy indicates that it covers only accidental death and in such case the premium must be very less when compare to other products of Insurance. What is the annual premium? What is the Home Loan amount and EMI? If it is less premium the policy accrues the benefit to your family that in case of sudden untoward incident of death of the loanee the family members are free from the liability of home loan. Before protesting, please look into all the above aspects. Still if you do not wish to continue the policy take steps as advised by expert Mr.Kumar Doab.
Guest
(Querist) 30 November 2013
HOMELOAN EMI=41000
INSURANCE EMI=4000 I.E ANUUAL PREMIUM=48000
I WILL DECIDE WHICH COMPANY POLICY SUITS ME ICICI CANNOT FORCE ME TO TAKE THEIR POLICY.THERE IS NO RETURN EXCEPT IN CASE OF ACCIDENTAL DEATH. WHEN MY HOME LOAN WILL BE PAID OFF THE INSURANCE WILL BE FOREFITED.
THEY HAVE HARRSAED ME SO MUCH THAT I HAVE TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST THEM. THEIR ONLY MOTIVE IS TO EARN HUGE COMMISSION FROM THE INSURANCE CO. THEY HAVE TOOK ASSIGNMENT ON MY POLICY IN ITS FAVOUR SO THAT I CANNOT CANCEL IT WITHOUT THEIR CONSENT. PLEASE HELP ME REGARDING THIS
V R SHROFF
(Expert) 30 November 2013
nothing more to add, // grievance to consumer forum
Rajendra K Goyal
(Expert) 30 November 2013
File written complaint to Bank Chairman, IRDA and also to Consumer forum.
ajay sethi
(Expert) 30 November 2013
well advised by experts
Kumar Doab
(Expert) 30 November 2013
The querist seems to have been advised in another thread at:
http://www.lawyersclubindia.com/experts/Misguided-by-bank-in-case-of-home-loan--434821.asp#.UpmnP9IW1MA
IN the above thread the querist did not confirm the policy has been assigned or not?
IN this thread the querist has confirmed that the policy has been assigned.
>> You have obtained the loan as it might have appealed to you.
You want to get rid of the insurance policy now since it is not suitable to you.
You have signed a pile of documents without going thru these and without obtaining copies at the time of signing.
You have signed the documents by your free will.
To wriggle out of the situation it shall be appropriate that Let all documents and inputs be seen by the trained legal eyes of your able lawyer and analyzed by the trained legal mind of your able lawyer.
You may proceed as deemed fit at your end and under the expert advice of your lawyer.
>> Forced selling and Mis selling is not allowed. It is offence.
For reasons best known to the regulators, litigants, lawyers of the litigants and accused, and court of law.......................the offenders are not being put behind bars in correctional centers. Usually the offenders are let off with simple monetary penalties.
Thereafter the offenders indulge in same unfair practices AND REMAIN UNDETERRED.
IRDA, consumer forms have levied huge and heavy penalties a number of times on M/s ICICI.....................and the decisions are available on the website of IRDA.......................and
Confonet
confonet.nic.in/
>> It is neither mandatory nor can be enforced that the borrower has to buy life insurance from the lender or any of its associate or any insurance company with which it has a tie up.
It is not mandatory that borrower has to buy insurance on the spot and has to assign the policy on the spot.......................
Majority of the banking practices are not necessarily law of the land, are not in line with law of the land, sense and prudence too.
Many of the banking practices are unfair and that is why Banks and bankers are penalized.
>> You may provide a few pertinent and prudent information’s to your lawyer:
1. Did the Bank, Banker provide the authenticated copies on the spot or later, of all documents put up before you to sign?
2. Did the Bank, Banker ever provide the delivery of original insurance policy along with copy of the proposal form signed by you?
3. Did the Bank, Banker obtained signature on assignment deed even before the policy bond was ever supplied to you?
Did the bank, banker, insurance company ever provide the policy brochure, PQIS, illustration, of the policy to you?
3. Did the bank, Banker executed the assignment deed without supplying the original policy bond to you?
4. Does the documents signed by you contain any clause that the bank, banker, insurance company is being authorized not to supply the policy bond and execute the assignment even without supplying the original policy bond to borrower?
5. Is it legal, lawful, fair, reasonable, justified that until or unless the instrument which is to be assigned has not reached the hands of assignee or has not been even seen by assignee but gets assigned?
The act of the bank, banker is clear offence?
6. Is the insurance company empowered by any law of the land to supply the insurance policy to any one other than life insured?
If not under which law or power or authority the insurance company has chosen to supply the insurance policy to some one else?
7. Did the bank and banker obtain your signatures on any document that insurance policy be not supplied to you but may be supplied to bank or banker and be assigned on the strength of this document that was signed by you ( along with proposal form on the day proposal form was signed by you) i.e.
days before the proposal from was even scrutinized by the staff of the insurance company, underwriting was done by insurance company, and policy was inforced by the insurance company, policy was issued and policy schedule/bond was even printed and dispatched??????????????????????????????
Until the insurance is underwritten or approved by underwriters it can not be issued even by the MD of insurance company.
Does IRDA, Ministry of Finance permit to assign an insurance policy even before it is issued???????????????????
Has any court of law delivered any decision and judgment that such a conduct is permissible?
IT IS CLEAR THAT SINCE BANK, BANKER ARE CROSS SELLING THIS INSURANCE POLICY THEY ARE WELL VERSED WITH THE FEATURES OF THIS POLICY WHILE THE BORROWER IS NOT.
THEREFORE THE BANK AND BANKER ARE WITHOUT ANY HESITATION CROSS SELLING OR RIGHTLY SAID FORCE SELLING THIS INSURANCE POLICY.
8. The Bank/Banker/Insurance Company has issued and supplied a SMS to you on dated 28/11/2013 STATING POLICY NO AND POLICY NAME................................. I HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY POLICY KIT TILL NOW.
>> THE FREE LOOK PERIOD SHALL START FROM DAY/DATE OF DELIVERY OF THE POLICY..............AND NOT FROM DAY/DATE OF COMMENCEMENT OF POLICY!!!!!
Did you write to M/s ICICI PRU to supply you the certified copy of the POD and document signed by you on the strength of whom it has chosen not to dispatch the policy to you but to someone else?
Did you declare in proposal form any other address other than your address for delivery of the policy?
Remember ICICI PRU is under obligation to comply with KYC norms and can dispatch at your address for which you have provided copy of address proof and original of which is seen by authorized representative of the insurance company and this authorized representative is to mark ‘OSV” on copy of address proof/KYC documents.
You must demand in writing from Bank. banker, BM that he should declare in writing in the form of numbered list on letterhead under seal and signature by hand, which documents they place before you to sign and obtained your signatures and authenticated copies of the same be supplied as per numbered list by registered post only so as to reach you in say.................3 days.
You may write to M/s ICICI PRU that you have receive a SMS reading as..........................on dated......................from their phone number.........................at your phone number........................but you have neither received the original policy document nor POD, till date despite representations made to them and you were constrained to look for alternatives as neither the policy brochure or details or PQIS or illustration was ever shown to you/provided to you and at your own cost you had travel to the cyber café and check the details of policy name..........................on website of ICICI PRU and you are not at all convinced with the policy and has decided to cancel the policy as already informed by you and policy stands cancelled.
You may declare otherwise also since policy is not supplied to you the free look period has never ended and you are within your rights and you are canceling the policy without any prejudice to your rights.
You may declare that now onwards bank, banker, insurance company shall supply all communications in writing by letter
on letterhead under seal and signature by hand thru registered post only and if the bank, banker, insurance company affirms in writing you are willing to supply the postage prepaid, self addressed envelopes it wants.
>> Let the bank M/s ICICI , banker, M/s ICICI PRU reply to you in writing or maintain a studied silence.
Instead of lodging a complaint to Grievance Redressal call center of IRDA you may lodge a complaint addressed to the Chairman of IRDA by letter thru fax followed by redg. post and demand that hearing be conducted by IRDA at your city or thru video conference.
>> You may also lodge a complaint with Non banking Cel of RBI with a copy to Governor...................
Smt. Uma Subramaniam
Chief General Manager -in-Charge
Department of Non-Banking Supervision
Central Office
Centre I, World Trade Centre, Cuffe Parade
Mumbai-400 005.
Phone: 022-22153350
Email id: cgmicdnbsco@rbi.org.in
Governor
Reserve Bank of India
Central Office Building
18th Floor, Shahid Bhagat Singh Road
Mumbai-400 001.
022-22660868
governor@rbi.org.in
T. Kalaiselvan, Advocate
(Expert) 30 November 2013
I think Kumar daob has perfectly answered, now what more is left to add?
