LIC agent did not pay premium as a result policies are lapsed
Dear All,
Summary:
Want to sue LIC agent as she did not pay premiums in time hence policies are lapsed. So my money is gone, I could not claim tax benefit and I have now zero risk cover.
Detail:
I am going to discuss about 2 cases here - Lapsed policies and Surrendered Policies
1. Lapsed Policies:
I am from Pune. I had 5 LIC policies worth Rs 2 Lac premium per year. And my brother has one policy worth Rs 75000/- per year. Amongst my 5 policies one policy has annual premium of Rs 1 Lac while rest 4 policies had combined premium of Rs 1 Lac per year. We have been paying our premiums regularly, without single lapse, through LIC agent for last more than 10 years. Initially for 6 to 7 years LIC agent gave good service so we never had any doubt. But for last 3-4 years she was not giving receipt. We used to asked her for receipts but she used to say I will give and she never gave the receipts. Also we were busy with our work so could not follow up constantly. But we gave her premium through cash and sometimes transferred to her bank account. But this time I went to LIC branch and seeked details and to my shock my brother's and my policies are lapsed and last premium is being shown as paid some 4 years back. We contacted the agent and confronted her. She said she has paid premium and it could be some system mistake and asked for 10 days to sort out this matter. But I am doubtful if she can resolve this issue. So I want guidance from all you guys how can I proceed further in this matter. My minimum expectation in this matter is:
1. All our policies should be revived without charging us a single extra penny.
2. LIC agent should pay the losses I had to face due to not producing my premium receipt for claiming tax benefit.
2. Surrendered Policies:
As I said earlier I have policies of worth Rs 2 lac per annum as premium. So out of that, policy having premium Rs 1 lac per annum has lapsed but rest 4 policies having combine premium of Rs 1 Lac per annum has got surrendered due to negligence of LIC agent. She had suggested me to take loan from LIC on these policies and pay the premiums through that loan. I agreed and handed her over my original policy documents. But I don't know what she did, my policies are in surrendered status and after contacting LIC office I can see some amount was transferred to my bank account last year. But there was never any communication from LIC or my agent regarding surrender of my policies. Neither was the case that I cannot afford to pay the premiums. When I asked LIC agent about this she doesn't have any clear answer. So I think it is clear case of negligence by my agent. Is there any way I can recover my money from agent for surrendered policies because I understand surrendered policies cannot be revived.
So after 10 years of investment all my savings, risk cover and retirement benefits have gone only because my agent did not do her job well.
Also is there any chance I can sue LIC because there are some loopholes in LIC due to which these agents are taking such undue advantage?