The Insurance Regulatory Authority of Uganda (IRA) has launched a Complaint Management System to efficiently track and address grievances between insurers and the insuring public.
The online system enables the insuring public to lodge insurance-related complaints at their convenience, without necessarily having to travel to IRA offices as it has been under the manual system.
Speaking at the system launch at Hotel Africana, Kampala on August 31, the IRA Chief Executive Officer, Alhaj Kaddunabbi Ibrahim Lubega, said the system will enhance efficiency in complaints management.
With the system, he added, insurance service providers will be able to see a complaint lodged against them in real-time and make it easy to track the period a complaint spends in the system without being resolved.
The system is an innovation by an IRA staff, Mrs. Cynthia Ayero Nsubuga.
Alluding to innovation, Alhaj Kaddunabbi noted that the Authority attaches great importance to innovation because technology and innovation are critical drivers of the success of any industry.
He urged each insurance service provider to get used to the system because it is the only way of moving forward. He added that IRA is keen to ensure minimal to zero complaints arising from the industry.
Available statistics indicate that 117 complaints were filed with IRA from January to June 2022. Over 80% of them have been resolved, according to the Director Legal & Secretary to the Authority, Mrs. Francesca N. Kakooza.
IRA derives its mandate from Section 12(1) (j) &(k) of the Insurance Act 2017, which gives the Authority powers to receive and resolve insurance-related complaints from members of the public on the conduct of the person licensed under the Insurance Act and to arbitrate and grant restitution to the complainant, as may be possible.
With the new system, Mrs. Kakooza said that IRA’s successful resolution of complaints has engendered public confidence in the insurance industry.
Mrs. Kakooza added that while insurance companies were previously given a maximum of seven days to respond to a complaint, it is now going to reduce to a few days. This will, in turn, improve efficiency.
“Previously, people had to move physical documents from one office to another but all these will now be uploaded onto the system easily, reducing the time wasted and the cost of moving physical documents,” she said.