More than a year after Life Insurance Corporation’s (LIC) Raichur Division refused a claim by a widow, the Raichur District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed it to pay ₹4.75 lakh with 6% interest to her.
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The Redressal Commission has also directed LIC to pay ₹10,000 penalty for deliberately delaying settling the claim and ₹5,000 as litigation cost.
After Badeppa’s death on November 14, 2022, his wife, Sridevi, came to know that her husband had bought a life insurance policy from LIC Raichur. She then filed a claim with the company, but the LIC officials refused to honour her claim.
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When the matter came before the District Consumer Commission, advocate representing LIC Raichur Basavaraj Sakri argued that the insured late Badeppa has suppressed all material facts with regard to his health condition and undergone treatment for serious diseases.
He said that Badeppa did not provide the right answers in the proposal form while obtaining the policy.
Countering the argument made by LIC, advocates Vikram Nair and Gowreesh Swamy argued that the claim form was filled by the agent of LIC (opposite party) and the terms and conditions of the policy were not explained clearly to the policy holder.
They said that even after the woman furnished all necessary documents along with the claim form, the claim was rejected and not settled which has put the complainant in great hardship and mental agony.
President of the Raichur District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission Prabhudev Patil passed an order directing LIC to pay ₹4.75 lakh within 45 days from the date of the order along with 6% interest, failing which the company has to pay an interest of up to 8% on the pending amount.