Baramulla Consumer Commission Holds Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Liable For Deficiency In Services, Directs To Pay 3 Lac

Brief Facts

Syed Ibrahim Rivi owned a shop in Baramulla's Malmoh and had taken a loan from J&K Grameen Bank with intention of expanding his business. The stock in his shop was insured by the bank through Bajaj Allianz Insurance Company. However, the 2014 floods in Kashmir severely damaged the insured stock as everything remained submerged under water for almost 15 days. As a result, Ibrahim approached the bank requesting to get his insurance claim processed. Consequently, the bank sent a written communication to the Insurance Company in order to register the claim. However, the Insurance Company failed to take any action to process or register the claim, due to which Ibrahim was unable to restart his business and therefore approached the Consumer Commission for relief.

Arguments of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company

The Company argued that since the complainant had not directly informed them about the said insurance claim, they were not responsible for processing it. The complainant had violated the terms of the policy by not informing the Insurance Company within reasonable time. They submitted that if they received the intimation, they would have appointed a surveyor to assess the damages, but they could not do so because the complainant never approached the Insurance Company.

Decision of the District Commission

The Commission presided by Peerzada Qousar Hussain along with Ms. Nyla Yaseen as Member found that the Bank had sent a written communication to the Insurance Company asking for the claim to be registered and this amounts to valid notice. The Insurance Company to bound to take action on the said intimation. The Consumer Commission noted that when insurance is arranged through a bank (like in this case), the bank acts as an agent of the insurer and therefore notice to the bank is considered notice to the insurer.

Based on these observations, the Consumer Commission held that non-action on the part of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company amounts to unfair trade practice as well as deficiency in services. Thereby the bench directed the Insurance Company to register the claim and pay Rs. 3 Lac (i.e. insured amount) along with interest of 7%, Rs. 1,00,000/- for mental agony and Rs.20,000/- as litigation cost.

Click here to Read/Download the Order

Case Title: Syed Ibrahim Rizwi vs. The Chairman, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company & Ors.

Consumer Complaint No. 15/2016

For the Complainant: Advocate Javid Ahmad Parry

For Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company: Advocate F.D Bhat

Click Here To Download Order/Judgement