The Vadodara district consumer disputes redressal commission ordered an insurance firm to pay 70% of the claim amount in a case in which the petitioner had filed for it more than 100 days after the theft.
Ashish Gandhi filed a complaint with the forum against IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Company in May 2022 after his insurance claim was rejected. Gandhi stated that he had bought the motorbike in 2016 and got it insured with IFFCO Tokio for February 2021 to February 2022.
Gandhi’s bike was stolen in October 2021 and he filed an online complaint on the police app after three months. IFFCO Tokio said Gandhi had flouted the rules by not informing the company about the theft within 48 hours.
IFFCO Tokio said Gandhi informed police 97 days after the theft and the insurer after 103 days. The insurance firm said Gandhi was negligent and he forgot to lock the vehicle’s steering on the day of the theft. But the forum observed that there was no proof of that. Gandhi contended that he was searching for his bike for three months, but he couldn’t find it following which he filed the claim.
But the forum said it was not possible that someone would keep searching for the stolen vehicle for 97 days and inform the insurance firm after 103 days. Considering this as a flouting of terms of the policy, the forum ordered the firm to pay 70% of the vehicle’s price on the day it was stolen. It ordered the insurer to pay Rs 14,973 with 8% interest from the day of the complaint to the day it is paid. The order also directs the insurer to pay Rs 1,000 each for legal cost and mental harassment caused to Gandhi.