Ludhiana, July 17
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to pay Rs 50,000 following the death of Subhash Chander Bhatia to his wife, Ms Veena Rani Bhatia, a resident of Neemwala Chowk, Ludhiana.
The forum further directed payment of interest on the sum assured at the rate of nine per cent per annum from the date of repudiation (November 11, 2000) till actual payment, along Rs 500 as cost of litigation, to the complainant.
According to the complaint, the husband of the complainant got himself insured for Rs 50,000 vide a policy on October 13, 1999, with the LIC.
She stated before the forum that she was appointed nominee in the said policy and the risk covered was with effect from October 13, 1999, to October 13, 2014.
She claimed that her husband was in good health and was not suffering from any disease.
She disclosed that the deceased died on June 7, 2000, of cardiac arrest and her husband was not taken to hospital. After that, she lodged the claim, but instead of getting the insured money, she got a letter on November 15, 2000, mentioning that the person insured had suppressed facts at the time of proposing the policy and denied to pay the sum assured.
The LIC pleaded that the deceased had concealed the material fact at the time of proposing the insurance policy that he was under treatment of Dr R.K. Karkara for diabetes, mellitus for the last two years and coronary artery disease for the last five months.
The corporation claimed that the primary cause of the death was coronary artery disease and the secondary cause of death was diabetes mellitus.
The respondent claimed that the claim was rightly repudiated and the complainant was not entitled to the payment.
Observing that there was no evidence to prove that the deceased was suffering from these diseases at the time of taking the policy and he had suppressed the information, the forum held that the repudiation of the claim was not valid.
