Journalism of Courage
Car ‘stolen’ after owner leaves it covered in branches on road, wins Rs 2.26 lakh payout
The commission found that complainant had acted prudently by locking vehicle, moving it to roadside. It therefore held insurer guilty of deficiency in service for wrongfully repudiating the theft claim.
The District Consumer Commission was dealing with a plea of a man seeking insurance money. (AI-generated Image)
The South Delhi District Consumer Commission held National Insurance Company Limited guilty of deficiency in service for rejecting a stolen car claim, ruling the insured had taken reasonable precautions after the vehicle broke down. It directed the insurer to pay the insured an amount of Rs.2.06 lakh with interest,
A bench of president Monika Aggarwal Srivastava and members Rajendra Dhar and Ritu Garodia also awarded Rs 20,000 compensation and litigation costs to the man.
“We find the opposite party guilty of deficiency in service and direct it to pay the sum insured, i.e., Rs 2.06 lakh, with interest at 7 per cent per annum from the date of theft, i.e., December 7, 2016, till its realisation,” the commission said on July 24.
The bench noted that it is evident that the vehicle of the complainant has been stolen and an FIR was registered on the same day. “The complainant’s car had broken down on the winter night of December, 2016. He could not receive any help from the service center. He had pushed the vehicle to the side of the road and covered it with branches. Thereafter, he went in search of a mechanic. He returned in the early hours of the morning and found the vehicle missing,” the order stated.
Insurer denied theft insurance claim
The complainant purchased a Tata Indica car in 2011 and insured it with National Insurance Company. On the night of December 6, 2016, while returning from Meerut, the car broke down near Gadaipur, New Delhi.
After unsuccessfully trying to get roadside assistance, he locked the vehicle, pushed it to the roadside, covered it with tree branches, and went to fetch a mechanic. On returning the next morning, he found the vehicle stolen and immediately lodged an FIR.
After the police filed an untraced report, he submitted an insurance claim. However, the insurer repudiated the claim, alleging that he had failed to take due care of the vehicle by leaving it unattended after the breakdown, prompting him to approach the consumer commission alleging deficiency in service.
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Insurer cited policy breach
National Insurance Company contended that it had rightly repudiated the claim under the policy condition. It argued that the complainant failed to take due care for the protection of the insured vehicle by leaving it unattended after it broke down.
According to the insurer, this amounted to a breach of the policy conditions, justifying rejection of the theft claim.
Insurer failed to place surveyor’s report: Order
The commission noted that the complainant’s vehicle was admittedly stolen and that an FIR was lodged on the very same day. The police later filed an untraced report, and the complainant also informed the NCRB and the RTO while complying with the insurer’s documentation requirements.
It observed that the insurer repudiated the claim solely on the ground that the complainant had left the vehicle unattended after it broke down, allegedly violating a policy condition. However, the insurer failed to place the surveyor’s report on record or establish that the complainant had not exercised reasonable care.
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The commission found that the complainant had acted prudently by locking the vehicle, moving it to the roadside, covering it with branches, and immediately searching for a mechanic. It therefore held the insurer guilty of deficiency in service for wrongfully repudiating the theft claim.
Takeaway
This judgment reinforces that insurers cannot reject genuine theft claims merely because a stranded vehicle was temporarily left unattended after a breakdown. It clarifies that “reasonable care” must be assessed pragmatically and places the burden on insurers to prove negligence, protecting consumers from arbitrary claim repudiation.
Consumers facing similar grievances may contact the consumer helpline in their respective states (Delhi helpline: 011-23379146) or dial the National Consumer Helpline at 1915 for assistance.
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