New India Assurance ordered to pay Rs 10 lakhs

Ahmedabad, Sept 15: The Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Ahmedabad, has partly allowed a complaint filed by the Consumer Education and Research Society (CERS), and Ms Neha M Dave, wife of late Malay A Dave, and held New India Assurance liable for deficiency in service and violation of its policy conditions.

The Forum has ordered the company to pay Nehaben Rs 10 lakhs with 9 per cent interest from July 21, 2004 till realisation, besides other benefits as per the conditions under the Janta Personal Accident Insurance Policy of her late husband. It has also ordered New India to pay Nehaben Rs 25,000 towards mental agony, besides Rs 10,000 each towards cost to her and CERS.

The Forum directed New India to recover the cost of Rs 10,000, payable to Nehaben, from the salary of the Divisional Manager who had written to her on July 21, 2004, and to submit a copy of the deducted salary certificate to the Forum soon. This sets a precedent to make people in authority accountable.

In the letter dated July 21, 2004, New India had informed Nehaben that the company had cancelled the Janta Personal Accident Policy on May 1, 1999 and had issued a public notice in various newspapers in Mumbai as well as in Gujarat in Hindi, English, Gujarati and Marathi on 12 and 13th of December 2002 to inform the insured. The letter to Nehaben had further added that in her case, her husband had died on September 22, 2003, i.e. after the policy had been cancelled. Hence the company had not considered her claim under the Janta Personal Accident Policy.

The late Malay A Dave had taken the policy from New India covering 15 years from November 11,1998 to November 10, 2013 and the sum assured was Rs 10 lakhs, with his wife as the assignee. He had paid Rs 4015 as the premium and had been issued a receipt.

UNI