Forum orders Max Life to pay death clai of Rs 6 lakh
The district consumer grievances redressal forum here has directed a private insurance company to pay a sum of Rs 6 lakh with interest to the kith and kin of a policy holder.
The district consumer grievances redressal forum here has directed a private insurance company to pay a sum of Rs 6 lakh with interest to the kith and kin of a policy holder.
Jassa Singh, a resident of Lohke Khurd village, post office Valtoha, Zira sub division, had complained to the forum that he had procured a life insurance policy for his wife Sarabjit Kaur from the Max Life Insurance Company Limited.
Under the 20-year policy, she was supposed to get Rs 6 lakh on its maturity, and in case of her death, her nominee was entitled to get it as the death claim.
He said his wife died on November 27, 2012 after falling from the roof of her house.
The matter was reported to the police and an investigation was conducted by the police, who found that she had died accidentally after she fell off the roof.
Jassa Singh said he approached the company for claim of the policy, but the company rejected his claim on the ground that the medical status disclosure, as required in the proposal form, was not submitted by deceased Sarabjit Kaur.
The company in reply to the complaint pleaded that the deceased had been suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis and was HIV+ even before the proposal form was filled in by her and she had suppressed the fact about her illness. Both the parties led their evidence in support of their respective versions.
After hearing counsel of both the parties, the forum held that the proposal form was filled in by the agent of the opposite party and Sarabjit Kaur had only put her signatures on the form in Punjabi script; secondly, the report of Integrated Counselling & Testing Centre Laboratory, Ferozepur, produced by the company to prove that Sarabjit Kaur was detected HIV positive, was having cutting and overwriting in its PID number, besides some other cuttings.
The forum further ruled that the alleged pulmonary tuberculosis and being HIV+ was not the cause of death of the deceased.
The forum ruled that the repudiation of the claim of the complainant by the insurance company was not justified.
The full bench of the forum, comprising president Gurpartap Singh Brar and members Meena Bishnoi and Gyan Singh directed the company to pay the assured sum of Rs 6,00,000 on account of the death of the insured person along with interest at the rate of 9% per annum from the date of repudiation of the claim ie 28.2.2013 till realisation to complainant Jassa Singh besides payment of Rs 5,000 as compensation for harassment and Rs 3,000 as litigation expenses.