October 09, 2017: Supreme Court has said that insurance claims cannot be rejected if the reason for delay in filing it is satisfactorily explained.
A bench of Justices RK Agrawal and S Abdul Nazeer said that rejection of the claims on purely technical grounds in a mechanical manner will result in the loss of confidence of policy-holders in insurance industry.
The observations came as the bench allowed the appeal of a man against the ruling of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) that insurance firms could deny the claim benefit for delay in filing it.
The apex court directed Reliance General Insurance Company to pay 8.35 lakh rupees to the Hisar-based customer whose insured truck was stolen but his claim was rejected on the grounds of delay in filing it.
Supreme Court said that the Consumer Protection Act is aimed at providing better protection of the interest of consumers.
The court also observed that a person who has lost his vehicle may not straightaway go to the insurance company to claim compensation and will first make efforts to trace the vehicle.
The insurance firm had denied the insurance claims saying claimant has violated a policy condition that made it mandatory to inform the firm immediately after any accidental loss or damage to the vehicle. (AIR News)
