Chandigarh District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has ordered Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Limited to return Rs 40 lakh 13 thousand 236 along with 6 percent annual interest and pay a fine of Rs 40 thousand for rejecting the insurance claim of BMW car.
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The Commission said that it is the duty of insurance companies to ask for necessary documents to verify the authenticity of the claim, but they should not harass consumers by asking for unnecessary documents.
What is the matter?
Navjeevan Jeet Singh, resident of Chandigarh Sector-15A, had filed a complaint against the general manager of the insurance company and the branch manager located in Chandigarh Industrial Area, alleging negligence in service and unfair business practices. The complainant had insured his BMW car for the period from January 13, 2024 to January 12, 2027.
The car accident happened on January 30, 2024. At that time the car was being driven by relative Ikram Singh Bhattal, who had a valid driving license. After the accident, both the parties resolved the matter with mutual consent at Panchkula Sector-21 police station. The police considered the incident to be an ordinary road accident and did not register any case.
Dispute over claim rejection
The complainant had applied for the insurance claim on 3 February. The estimated cost of repairing the car was said to be Rs 49 lakh 58 thousand 118. Despite this the insurance company rejected the claim. The company said that the driver has also refused to undergo medical examination along with the police report.
The complainant replied that the settlement was reached in the presence of police after the accident and the medico-legal report is not available. Despite this, the insurance company kept asking for the MLC report again and again.
The matter was not resolved even after the police certificate.
The police issued a certificate on March 28 saying that due to the agreement no case was registered and no MLC was available. This certificate was handed over to the insurance company, but the company refused to settle the claim.
Commission announced its decision
The victim lodged a complaint with the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. The commission ordered the insurance company to return the claim amount along with interest and a fine of Rs 40,000. The Commission clarified that insurance companies cannot harass consumers by demanding unnecessary documents.