Insurance co asked to pay Rs 2 lakh personal accident claim

Thane District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum has ordered an insurance company to pay Rs two lakh towards personal accident insurance claim to a woman, whose husband was killed in a freak mishap involving his insured vehicle.
According to the claimant, the insurance company had refused to pay the claim amount citing various reasons, including that the victim's surname mentioned in the policy was different from his actual surname.
However, the forum, while holding the insurance company guilty of deficiency in service, ruled that minor typographical errors should not be a reason to reject a claim.
President of the forum, Umesh Jhavalikar, and member N D Kadam recently gave an order to New India Assurance Company to pay additional sum of Rs 25,000 besides the insurance claim of Rs two lakh to the victim's wife.

In her application, victim's wife Shivleela Guthedar, a resident of Bandra in Mumbai, had stated that her husband had insured their vehicle from New India Assurance under which he had got personal accident policy for Rs 2 lakh.
On February 11, 2008 her husband was crushed under the rear wheels of his insured vehicle when it was being driven in reverse gear by another person in Thane district.
Shivleela demanded Rs 2 lakh from the insurance company but the company refused to do so citing various reasons.
The deceased did not possess a valid licence at the time of the mishap; the victim himself was not driving the vehicle or boarding or alighting it at the time and also that the victim's surname in the policy was different from his actual surname were some of the reasons cited.