Insurance firm to pay for rejecting claim of car damaged in downpour
Terming it guilty of deficient in services, district consumer disputes redressal forum has directed ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited to pay Rs 20,000 as compensation to Talwarsons Jewellers, Sector 22, Chandigarh. It has also been directed to pay Rs 10,000 as cost of litigation and to reconsider the claim.
Terming it guilty of deficient in services, district consumer disputes redressal forum has directed ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited to pay Rs 20,000 as compensation to Talwarsons Jewellers, Sector 22, Chandigarh. It has also been directed to pay Rs 10,000 as cost of litigation and to reconsider the claim.
Talwarsons Jewellers had moved the consumer forum after the insurance firm turned down its claim regarding a BMW 7 series car.
The complainant submitted that a BMW 7 series was purchased for Rs 1 crore on February 22, 2009, for the personal use of Anil Talwar, partner of the complainant firm, and insured with ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited. It added that in September 2011, owing to heavy downpour, the vehicle stopped functioning and was sent to the workshop for repairs to the tune of Rs 7.74 lakh approximately.
The complainant firm alleged that the insurance company wrongly disallowed their claim on the grounds that the damage was not covered under the policy.
The insurance company was proceeded ex parte.
The consumer forum held that since insurance company had not appeared so it was not proved that there was any term and condition in accordance with which the damage to the car engine by water ingress was excluded.
"Since the insurance company has not led any evidence about informing the complainant in respect of the conditions of the policy, we feel that it cannot escape from its liability of indemnification on the grounds of such exclusionary clause," the consumer forum stated.