Denial Of Insurance Claim, Bihar State Commission Dismisses Appeal By Reliance Nippon Life Insurance

The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Bihar bench comprising Mr Justice Sanjay Kumar (President), Mr Ram Prawesh Das (Member) and Shamim Akhtar (Member) dismissed an appeal filed by Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Company which contended misrepresentation of age on the policy holder's part while availing the policy. The State Commission held that the Insurance Company failed to discharge its burden of proof in light of the fact that the company's advisor himself filled out the proposal form after verifying the policyholder's age. Brief Facts: Gharohari Devi's (“Complainant”) husband purchased an insurance policy from Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Company Limited (“Insurance Company”) and made the Complainant the nominee of the said policy. He showed his age to be 47 years at the time of availing the policy. However, within 2 months the Complainant's husband died. The Complainant submitted a claim with the Insurance Company along with all relevant documents. However, despite repeated requests to settle the claim, the Insurance Company failed to do it or present any satisfactory reason towards such failure. Feeling aggrieved, the Complainant filed a consumer complaint in the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Motihari, East Champaran, Bihar (“District Commission”). The Insurance Company contended that the claim was repudiated because the Complainant's husband misrepresented his age while availing the insurance policy. It enclosed a copy of the voter list and a certificate issued by a member of the Panchayat Samiti in which the age of the deceased husband was mentioned to be '78 years'. The District Commission allowed the complaint and awarded a compensation of Rs. 1,00,000/- to the Complainant along with Rs. 5,000/- as the cost of litigation. Aggrieved by the order of the District Commission, the Insurance Company filed an appeal in the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Bihar (“State Commission”). Observations of the Commission: The State Commission observed that the Insurance Company failed to prove fraud and misrepresentation on the part of the Complainant's husband as the Insurance Company's own Life Advisor filled the proposal form in his presence after verifying his age. The State Commission further noted that the age of a person cannot be concealed by him and can be assessed simply by looking at the face and physique of the person. Therefore, the State Commission found no merit in the appeal and dismissed it. Case Title: Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Co. Ltd. vs Gharohari Devi Case No.: Appeal No. 222 of 2017 Advocate for the Appellant: Sri Anil Kumar Advocate for the Respondent: Mr Pramod Kumar Malick Click Here To Read/DownloadOrder

Denial Of Insurance Claim, Bihar State Commission Dismisses Appeal By Reliance Nippon Life Insurance

Smita Singh

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