Alvi asks insurance company to reimburse claim to citizen

President upholds FIO's decision to reimburse AUD 57,172 within 30 days

ISLAMABAD:

President Dr Arif Alvi has upheld the decision of the Federal Insurance Ombudsman (FIO) directing an insurance company to reimburse the full health insurance amount of 57,172 Australian dollars (AUD) to a citizen, who had been denied the insured amount on flimsy grounds, within 30 days.

The complainant (Fahad Mahmood) had obtained a Worldwide Travel Insurance Policy from United Insurance Company of Pakistan Ltd for his father to travel to Australia with a sum assured of USD 50,000 for medical expenses and hospitalisation abroad, President Secretariat Press Wing said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

During his stay in Australia, his father was admitted to hospitals twice and was treated for a few days. He filed the health insurance claim but the company only honoured the claim for his father’s first admission to the hospital in Australia.

Alvi said the onus to prove the pre-existing ailment rested upon the petitioner company and the repudiation of the insurance claim required unimpeachable evidence regarding the existence of the alleged pre-existing ailment and its knowledge by the policyholder.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 19^th, 2023.