Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday asked the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) to constitute a special team to settle claims of those affected by the recent natural calamity in Uttarakhand.
Chidambaram, who directed the LIC to open a major camp office in Dehradun to settle the claims on centralized basis, said that LIC should follow the same norms for settlement of claims as being followed by it during tsunami or earthquake in Bhuj and Latur in the past.
He said that LIC should not insist on the normal condition that requires seven years period in case of the missing people before death certificate is issued in their case in a normal situation.
In this precarious situation, Chidambaram said that an indemnity bond can be taken from the claimants in such cases and the claims may be settled on priority.
Chidambaram was addressing the senior officers of LIC and the Ministry of Finance here today after inaugurating 300 Mini Offices of LIC spread throughout the country. He opened these offices through video mode and also interacted with people present on the other side in a remote area through video conferencing.
Chidambaram also said that during his Budget Speech of 2013-14, he had announced an ambitious target of opening LIC offices in all the towns with a population of 10000 or above by March 31, 2014.
The Finance Minister congratulated the LIC officials on opening more than 300 branches within three weeks and hoped that they will achieve the target before the date set in his budget speech. He said that LIC has a special place in peoples' mind and is the best brand ever which is known even in the remotest part of the country.
More From This Section
Chidambaram said that there may be famous brands in case of products but very few famous brands like LIC in service sector. This puts a huge responsibility on all the officers and staff of LIC and requires maintenance and delivery of high quality of service. Through opening of these branches in smaller towns, the LIC will be able to provide various insurance products to the people leaving in far remote areas, the Finance Minister added.
The meeting was also attended among others by the Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena, Secretary, Financial Services, Rajiv Takru, current Chairman in charge LIC, Thomas Mathew, LIC Managing Directors Sushobhan Sarkar and S.K. Roy and other senior officers of Ministry of Finance and LIC.
