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Journalism of Courage
A consumer court has directed the LIC to pay Rs one lakh in claim amount to the wife of a deceased policy holder,saying that no false information was given to the company at the time of obtaining it.
“The possibility of the deceased getting diabetes and tuberculosis subsequent to the obtainment of the insurance policy is not unlikely and we should not therefore deprive her of the insurance benefit on this ground,” the Delhi State Consumer Commission bench,comprising President Justice B A Zaidi and M L Sahni,said.
The Commission passed the order on an appeal of Mamta,the wife of the deceased,challenging the District Forum’s decision in favour of LIC for repudiating the claim on the basis of not disclosing the disease at the time of taking the policy.
It said that the reports of a doctor appointed by the insurance company and a school vice principal proved that the deceased,M C Bhardwaj,was not suffering from any illness at the time of inception of the policy.
“It will be seen that at the time of (taking the policy of) insurance,the deceased was examined by the insurance doctor and it was found that he was not suffering from any disease and (the doctor) made a note of NAD which means that nothing abnormal was detected.
“There is a certificate from the vice principal of the school where the deceased was working as a teacher,which mentions that he never took sick leave during last 10 years,” the Commission said,adding that it shows Bhardwaj did not conceal any illness.
It,however,said that whether it is diabetes or tuberculosis,any disease can strike any person at any time.
Earlier,the Forum did not grant relief to Mamta relying on the history sheet of the hospital where he was admitted where it was found that he was suffering from diabetes for the last five years and it was concealed from the company.
Bhardwaj died in 2005 following which his wife approached the company which rejected her claim.
