Following a complaint by the Delhi International Airport, a district consumer disputes redressal forum here has directed ICICI Lombard General Insurance to pay a sum amounting to over ₹2 lakh for wrongly repudiating a claim.
Stating that the repudiation of claim was “unjustified”, the consumer panel said, “At the time of incidence the alleged policy in question was in existence…all the conditions mentioned in personal liability clause was duly completed by the complainant. Hence, in our view the repudiation is unjustified.”
The directions followed a complaint moved by the Delhi International Airport which alleged that, despite having an “Overseas Corporate Travel Insurance Policy”, the insurance company had rejected the claim when an official with the former met with an accident while on official duty abroad.
“The policy taken by the complainant (Delhi Airport) covers visiting executives of the complainant company to meet unexpected medical expenses, loss of passport or baggage expenses and certain personal liability, if arising during abroad visits,” the panel observed while noting the complaint.
Further it was contended that under the “personal liability” clause included “an incident which result in death or injury or damage to the health of third party or damage to his or her properties.”
It was argued by the complainant that as the official met with the accident while driving a rented car in Athens, he had to pay the damages to the rent car company.
However, the insurance company contended that the claim was repudiated as the “loss was caused solely due to the negligence and carelessness of the complainant.”
The consumer panel, while dismissing the contentions put forth by the insurance company, said that it was “liable to reimburse the complainant company.”
“In our view the case of the complainant squarely covered under the clause personal liability and the repudiation of the claim under the exclusion clause…was unjustified,” the panel said.
The insurance company has been directed to pay a sum of Rs. 1.94 lakh as reimbursement of the claim and Rs. 20,000 as litigation cost.