It is said that consumers are kings in a market. But this statement cannot always be true. Sometimes we the so-called kings can fall a pray to the Mis-selling by the sellers or agents.

The above scenario is more so in Insurance products than the consumer durables wherein we can see, check and then buy the products, whereas when it comes to insurance products often, we are made to believe the facts as per the convenience of the agents which will undoubtedly fill their pockets with the commissions but will leave our pockets with a hole.

 Mis-Selling means selling a product without giving proper or full information about it. Only partial information would be given to the buyers elude them to buy it before properly scrutinizing it. As a result, they may have to pay heavy premium and benefit which they get at the maturity of the policy would not match at all. Though they come to know about this half way through they would not be in a position to surrender it as the penalty for such surrenders would be too huge. As a result, so called kings (i.e., the customers) will be drooped to the level of losers. As rightly told by the experienced people short-cuts can give quick results but not long-lasting and permanent ones. The agents in their run of target achieving will try to push off their insurance products to the buyers by showing the rosy picture and hiding the facts such as penalty clause for the premature surrendering of the policies, can achieve their targets but eventually will lose the confidence of their buyers who will know the ground reality. Due to such instances, by losing confidence either they will stop investing on such products or might go in with other insurance company who are more transparent in their transactions. The result is the insurance companies will be at loss in its long run. However, by following the below mentioned steps both the insurance company and the consumer can have a win-win situation That doesn’t mean that we must not or cannot secure our future by buying an insurance policy. We should understand the policies properly.

1. Should do a self-study after you get explanations from the agents through the authentic websites regarding the product, its benefits, the interim costs as well as the surrender cost.
2. Should fill in the forms on the own though it is time consuming as it gives us a better understanding of the policy.
3. Last but not the least go with such agencies who are known for their integrity and experience in this field.

With the above-mentioned reasons or steps, the consumers can once again be the kings rather than being cheated.

Deepika Pai
II MBA, DSCE