October 17, 2017
Granting relief to a man who was denied the claim for his stolen vehicle, Supreme Court said that insurance claims cannot be rejected if the reason for delay in filing it is explained satisfactorily.
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.
According to the appeal filed by Om Prakash, his truck was stolen in Bhiwari in Rajasthan on March 23, 2010 but he filed the insurance claim on March 31 as during that period, he was busy trying to trace it. When his claim was denied due to late filing, he decided to approach National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) and after 7 years of wait, he won.
A bench of justices R.K. Agrawal and S. Abdul Nazeer at Supreme Court has ordered the insurance provider to reimburse Om Prakash, because a genuine delay of 7 days is not a sufficient reason to deny the claim.
The Bench observed that any victim will first attempt to locate his stolen vehicle, rather than approach the insurance provider straight away.
Reliance General Insurance Co. has been ordered to pay Rs 8.35 lakh to Om Prakash.