Life Insurance Corporation, the No.1 brand in the country, has once again shown its high credentials in customer service. It has far surpassed the private insurance companies not only in market share but also in settling more % of claims, earlier settlement and better customer service.

According to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, LIC has performed better in terms of claim settlement ratio compared to private insurance companies.  Settlement of claims increased from 96.54% from 2009-10 to 97.03% in 2010-11 by LIC while the settlement ratio for private companies stood at 86.04% only in 2010-11, a differnece of more than 10%.  The % of claims rejected y LIC stood at a meagre 0.01% only in 2010-11, while for the private companies it is 8.90% in the same period. The pending claims in LIC are only 0.3%, while for private companies it is a big 5.36%.

This is the picture in the Insurance Sector, the Public Sector LIC shining with its better customer service, leaving the private companies far behind. Can’t the BSNL management and workers together strive hard to achieve the market leader position as also have a better customer service? It is not impossible but hard. We will have to fight against the anti-PSU policy of the government which is part of the neo-liberal policy. But, for the existence of BSNL, such a fight is unavoidable. The telecom workers and management are capable but the determination and committment are required in abundance.