Insurance firm told to pay for vehicle damage after fatal crash despite overloading claim
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The insurer had denied the claim citing overloading, but the commission found no evidence to support the allegation.
Surat Dass, who owned and insured the vehicle with United India Insurance Co Ltd (UIICL), under the ministry of finance, in July 2016, said it met with an accident on Jan 21, 2017, on the Lakhamanda–Nada road when a retaining wall collapsed, injuring several agricultural workers. Dass promptly reported the incident to the insurer by phone, and an FIR was filed at the revenue police chowki in Lakhamandal.
After submitting all necessary documents to UIICL, Dass's claim remained unresolved. He then filed a complaint with the district consumer commission, which ruled in his favour. The insurer was ordered to pay Rs 64,000 for vehicle damage, Rs 30,000 for mental agony and litigation costs, and 9% annual interest from the date of filing the complaint. UIICL challenged the verdict in the state commission.
The insurer's counsel said information from the tehsildar of Chakrata confirmed that 20 people, including the driver, were in the vehicle at the time, breaching both the insurance policy and the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
"Therefore, the district commission's judgment is not in accordance with the law and there was no deficiency in service on the part of the insurance company in repudiating the claim," the counsel said.
However, the state commission observed that the surveyor's report did not mention any overloading, nor did the investigating officer from the revenue police record the presence of more than 20 passengers. "The insurance company has not produced any cogent and reliable evidence to prove the fact that at the time of the accident, 20 persons were travelling in the insured vehicle," it said.
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The commission concluded that the amount awarded by the district commission was consistent with the surveyor's assessment of the loss. In several similar rulings, consumer forums have held that insurers cannot deny claims merely on allegations of policy violations unless substantiated by reliable and direct evidence.
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