Insurance firm was punished for denying vehicle claim
According to the direction of The Chandigarh Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, the National Insurance Company Limited had to pay Rs 60,000 to Bunty Goel, a resident of Sector 17, Panchkula, for denying his valid vehicle insurance claim. Furthermore, President of the Forum P D Goel and Members Rajinder Singh Gill and Madanjit Kaur Sahota were directed by the firm to pay Rs 25,000 to Goel as compensation for mental agony and harassment, which caused to him, and Rs 11,000 as cost of litigation.
In Goel’s complaint, Goel said that he obtained his Mahindra Pick-up insured with the company, beginning from December 2008 to December 2009, after paying the requisite premium. Then, Jay Chaudhary was appointed by him as driver on the vehicle who got and had a valid and effective driving license. After that, if the vehicle meet with an accident and is badly damaged, the Surveyor will be appointed by the company told Goel to get the vehicle repaired and submit the bill for passing the claim. However, driver would not have a valid driving license at the time of accident, if the bills were not cleared on the ground.
In the court, the company said that although there was no endorsement for driving a transport vehicle, the driver had a license for driving a Light Motor Vehicle (LMV). Therefore, the insurance claim was not payable, added the company. However, the Forum stated that in the registration certificate of the vehicle, it was noted that a vehicle is an LMV. In this light, the Forum directed the company to compensate him accordingly and upheld Goel’s insurance claim.