Chandigarh, August 7

The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission here has directed an insurance company to pay interest on the maturity amount released to a consumer six months after due date.

Shelly Dhawan, a resident of Sector 36, Chandigarh, alleged that she had obtained a policy from Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited in the name of her minor daughter and deposited yearly premiums from 2004 to 2019.

She said the insurance company was to pay first payout of Rs81,096.47 against the policy by March, 2020, but it failed to release the due amount despite repeated requests and emails.

The insurance company denied all the charges, saying that they paid a net amount of Rs82,482 as first payout on September 14, 2020 by crediting it in the bank account furnished by the complainant and the remaining amount was to be paid on attaining the age of 19, 20 and 21 years, respectively.

The company pleaded that there was a slight delay in the payment due to the closure of the office in view of the Covid-19. After hearing the arguments, the commission noted that the complainant was entitled for the interest on the payout amount of Rs82,482 for the delayed period.

The commission thus directed the insurance company to pay her an interest at nine per cent per annum on the amount of Rs82,482 from the due date to the day it is paid.

The commission further said it was not imposing any cost or compensation on the company taking a lenient view due to Covid-19 situation which hampered the payment in time. — TNS