I have credit shield insurance active on my Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) credit card. I worked with my previous employer for more than eight years and was fired in May 2015, due to a cost and staff reduction programme by the company.
I submitted all my documents to ADCB within the time period of 30 days as stipulated by the bank, to claim the loss of employment insurance amount in June 2015. The insurance department at the bank paid Dh4,000 on August 12, and Dh4,000 on December 20, 2015, and no other payment was done before or after that.
I have been continuously following up with the bank through email and calls and I was informed that the claim payment was under process. They were supposed to pay Dh4,000 to my card every month. My total outstanding when I lost my job was more than Dh60,000. However, even after losing my job, I continued to make some payments to the best of my ability, and have been staying in the country on a visit visa.
However, on February 29, 2016, the bank sent an email stating their refusal to pay the claimed amount as they are trying to resort to an exclusion clause in the terms and conditions sent to me by the bank on March 3.
The bank stated: “In order to claim the insurance amount you have to continue under the visa provided by the last employer terminating your employment, or else you are not eligible for the insurance benefit”.
I totally disagree with the views of the bank, as I was not informed of this clause previously. Initially, when I signed up for the insurance, I was informed that the bank would pay Dh4,000 every month until I get a new job, for a maximum period of one year.
Additionally, according to the UAE labour law, I cannot be under my company visa if I am no longer an employee of the company.
Considering this, I request Gulf News to intervene with ADCB in order to get me my insurance claim.
From Mr Manoj Krishna
Dubai
The management of ADCB responds:
Thank you for your cooperation and communication with us in the endeavour to best serve our customers and resolve their issues.
Customer satisfaction is at the very top of our agenda, which is why we have an established Service Quality Unit that is dedicated to handling all customer enquiries and complaints. While we cannot comment on specific customer cases, we do take finding a solution for our customers very seriously and approach every situation with the best interest of the customer in mind.
With reference to Mr Krishna’s issue, please be advised that our Quality Unit has investigated the matter and confirmed that the customer insurance claim was ceased due to the expiry of his visa under the employer where Mr Krishna was working with (third party policy), which is mentioned in the initial email sent to customer on July 15, 2015, as well as in ADCB Credit Shield Terms and Conditions Page 5, “Involuntary Loss of Employment”. The insurance company has released two payments for both the months where the customer was holding a valid visa (payments paid for June 15 to August 15). In consideration of the customer’s situation, we have tried our best to take an exceptional approval from the insurance company, however, it was declined. Customer was informed that the third payment was not approved by the insurance company due to the expiry of his visa. Case is closed.
We continually urge all customers to contact our Service Quality Unit by phone, email or web, should they need any further clarification regarding their issues. We would like to thank you for bringing this issue to our attention, and hence, giving us the opportunity to further our servicing to our valued customers.
Mr Krishna responded:
Thank you for the intervention. I received a call from ADCB on April 28. The representative was trying to explain that in order to claim the monthly insurance payment, I should have continued my visa under the same employer, who has terminated my service. I fail to understand this.
If I was continuing with the visa of my last employer for another 12 months, where does the question of job loss arise? This argument is against the basic principle of an insurance concept. I was paying the insurance premium to ADCB and it is their duty to argue with their insurance contractor on behalf of their customers rather than rejecting the claim.
At the time of taking the policy, I was not informed of the fact that the insured would need to continue with the same visa even after being terminated, which no employer would agree to.
I request ADCB to remit the insurance claim amount to my credit card.
The management of ADCB responded:
Kindly be advised that our customer care team has been communicating with the insurance company to resolve the issue in the customer’s favour, and we have obtained the insurance company approval to settle three more “Involuntary Loss of Employment” ILOE monthly instalments as per earlier approved monthly benefits.
The customer has been contacted and informed that three payments — a total of Dh12,000 — will be paid by the insurance company on June 5, 2016. Customer is satisfied and case is closed.
Mr Krishna responded:
I received a call from ADCB and an email, informing me that the insurance company agreed to release three more instalments, thus settling a total of five months’ dues. Thank you for the intervention.
(Process initiation: April 22. Response from organisation: April 28. Reader confirmation: May 22. Process completion: May 23.)
Editor’s note: Do you have similar issues that you would like to raise with us? You can write to us at readers@gulfnews.com.
