Insurance Claims Being Refused On "Flimsy Grounds": Supreme Court's Rebuke
NDTV
Supreme court observed while allowing an appeal against the August last year order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) in a matter pertaining to the settlement of a claim under the insurance policy for a truck that was stolen in 2013.
Insurance companies are refusing claims in many cases on "flimsy grounds", the Supreme Court Friday said while observing that they should not be too technical while settling the claims and ask for documents that the insured is not in a position to produce due to circumstances beyond his control.
The top court observed while allowing an appeal against the August last year order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) in a matter pertaining to the settlement of a claim under the insurance policy for a truck that was stolen in 2013.
A bench of Justices M R Shah and B V Nagarathna said that the appellant, who was the owner of the truck, was wrongly denied the insurance claim and the insurance company had become "too technical" while settling the claim and had acted "arbitrarily." "Therefore, in the facts and circumstance of the case, when the appellant had produced the photocopy of the certificate of registration and the registration particulars as provided by the RTO, solely on the ground that the original certificate of registration (which has been stolen) is not produced, non-settlement of claim can be said to be a deficiency in service," the bench said in its judgement.
It noted that the insurance claim was not settled mainly on the ground that the appellant had not produced either the original certificate of registration or even the duplicate certified copy of the certificate of registration issued by the RTO.
