Securities and Exchange Commission seeks grievance redressal for policyholders

According to Dawn, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan has proposed more insurance tribunals and small dispute resolution committees, along with a single digital complaints platform. Its new report, titled Strengthening Insurance Grievance Redressal in Pakistan, reviewed existing mechanisms that together handled 37,029 complaints in 2025.

The regulator wants the Ministry of Law and Justice to raise the count of tribunals in line with regional need, publish a roster of sessions courts acting as insurance tribunals, and fill tribunal seats on time. The report also proposes widening the reach of SDRCs, reviewing their financial limits from time to time, and moving their operations online through complaint filing and document exchange.

Chairman Dr Kabir Ahmed Sidhu said the goal is quicker complaint resolution, stronger accountability, and an effective forum open to each policyholder. A proposed information-sharing mechanism would connect the SECP, the Federal Insurance Ombudsman, Wafaqi Mohtasib, tribunals, SDRCs and insurers, while complaints about public-sector insurers would shift to the Federal Insurance Ombudsman.