Owners Not Entitled To Claim Insurance Amount Under Private Vehicle Policy For Vehicles Registered As Commercial Vehicles: Bihar State Commission

Brief Facts:

The Complainant bought a Bolero motor vehicle and insured it with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company (“Insurance Company”). During the subsistence of the policy, the vehicle was stolen by some unrecognized persons. The information about the theft was given to the local police, and an FIR was registered. A subsequent claim was also submitted to the Insurance Company. The Insurance Company deputed a person to enquire about the incident. An enquiry report was submitted to the Insurance Company. However, the Insurance Company repudiated the claim. The Complainant sent a legal notice to the Insurance Company but did not receive any reply. Feeling aggrieved, the Complainant filed a consumer complaint before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, East Champaran, Bihar (“District Commission”).

The Insurance Company contended that the complaint was barred by limitation as it was filed 3 years after the alleged theft. Further, the vehicle was insured as a private vehicle, but it was registered as a commercial vehicle. Therefore, the Complainant violated the terms and conditions of the insurance policy.

The District Commission allowed the complaint based on the enquiry report which substantiated the incident of theft. The Insurance Company was directed to disburse Rs. 5,48,105/- and pay Rs. 5,000/- as litigation costs to the Complainant. Dissatisfied with the order of the District Commission, the Insurance Company filed an appeal before the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Bihar (“State Commission”).

Observations by the State Commission:

The State Commission perused the policy and found that the vehicle was indeed insured under a private car package policy. The policy covered the use of the vehicle for any purpose except for hire and reward carriage of goods, etc. The State Commission also perused the registration certificate of the vehicle and found that it was registered as a taxi, which is a commercial vehicle.

It was established that at the time of purchasing the policy, the Complainant failed to disclose this fact to the Insurance Company. Therefore, he violated the terms and conditions of the policy. Therefore, the State Commission allowed the appeal and set aside the order made by the District Commission.

Case Title: Manager, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd. vs Ravi Kumar

Case No.: First Appeal No. A/65/2018