There is a need to reassess the present system of insurance litigation and align it with the insurance regulator's mission of protecting the interests of the policyholders, regulating, promoting and ensuring orderly growth of the insurance industry. The article looks at the litigants, causes and patterns of litigation, draws inferences and poses questions for future research. It emphasizes on the need for setting up a comprehensive database with the insurance regulator, comprising past and present insurance cases.

Indians had understood the importance of Vyavahara, legal procedure or the process of litigation from ancient times. Sage Manu, had enumerated 18 different areas of litigation known as 18 vyavahârapadas. The Smrti of Brihaspati distinguished four different kinds of courts of justice. Nârada-Smrti states that legal procedure was necessitated when dharma was lost among men and that the ruler, as the overseer of legal procedures would wield the rod of punishment. Texts like the Vishnudharmasûtra, Nârada-Smrti, Yâjñavalkyasmrti, and Kautilya's Arthasâstra ascribe rules for payment after a suit was decided. The Indian folklore speaks about the skills of the ancients in using literal and concealed meanings, quibbles and innuendos. The Indian fascination for legal wordings and documentation are well-known even from the ancient times of Sage Patanjali, the father of Indian logic and jurisprudence who said Pramanam vakyam vayam, the written word is our authority!

Insurers have attracted the dubious reputation across continents and centuries, for dabbling in written words having more hidden meanings than those that meet the public eye. Insurers are considered word-savvy and legal minded people capable of peddling promises with provisos and conditions that deprive the beneficiary from receiving the benefits promised. Perhaps, the proverbial fine print on lengthy insurance documents have, over the years, reduced the transparency of insurance contracts, created suspicion in the mind of insured and largely undermined the credibility of the insurance system itself. Insurers have always been aware of their inherent temptation to avoid a payment situation. Old timers fondly recall that the boardroom of one of the Indian insurance companies sported the message, "Pay if you can, repudiate if you must" as a good word of advice to its employees, a happy expression from an earlier generation!

The Indian Courts of Law are trying hard to keep pace with the fast growing number of justice seekers. Given that the tribe of justice seekers is growing at a faster pace than the disposal rates for a long time, the judiciary has been making sustained efforts over the last few years to catch up. It is heartening that the Law Minister has set up a three-year project to set up 5,000 new courts and clear the backlog of 2.75 crores cases pending in various courts. The project strives to reduce the average span of a court case from the present level of 15 years to one year by 2012. The Minister pointed out that the government is the biggest litigant in higher courts. "We will evolve a policy to be followed by officers in taking decisions, whether or not the government should file an appeal in the higher courts or not. Once the criteria for filing an appeal is evolved, which would be a little conservative towards moving higher courts," the Minister stated that a drastic fall in governmental litigation can be expected.

Insurance Chronicle Magazine, Insurance Litigation, Governmental Litigation, Statistical Validations, Transport Corporations, Insurance Companies, Insurance Industries, Empirical Analyses, Empirical Assessments, Banking Industry, Indian Insurance Companies, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, NCDRC.