Anyone who feels they have been treated unfairly by an insurance company can now share their complaints with government’s newly launched insurance tribunal.
A product of the recently passed Financial Services (Continuity of Business) Act, 2017, the tribunal — which government introduced on Monday — will offer insurance clients an alternative to the courts.
The act instructs the tribunal to “receive and investigate reports from persons who are aggrieved by a decision of an insurer with respect to any claim they have lodged or filed with the insurer.” In pursuit of an “amicable” settlement between the insurer and the insured, the five-person tribunal will have the authority to request any document or information from an insurer that it deems necessary.
If an agreement cannot be reached, the tribunal is supposed to advise the insurance client about their options.
Should tribunal members find any evidence of wrongdoing on the part of an insurance company, they are required to immediately notify the Financial Services Commission, which regulates insurers.
Eric Ball will chair the tribunal, and Elenor Smith, Icis Malone, Everett O’Neal and Violet Gaul will make up the rest of the membership.
“There is an urgent need to get claims processed so residents can rebuild their homes and have safe housing for those that are still displaced, and for commercial properties to be restored to bring back services that have been disrupted,” Premier Dr. Orlando Smith (R-at large) said in a press release.
Anyone wishing to reach out to the tribunal can e-mail insurancetribunal@bvifsc.vg or send a letter to “Insurance Tribunal c/o BVI Financial Services Commission; Haycraft Building; Pasea Estate, Tortola; VG1110; Virgin Islands.”