25-05-2025
Consumer forum rejects ‘old house' defence, asks insurer to pay full claim
Ghaziabad: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (DCDRC) has asked SBI General Insurance to pay the full assessed compensation of around Rs 1.1 lakh to a policyholder whose house was damaged in a storm in 2021.
The forum rejected the insurer's attempt to slash the compensation amount by 73% on grounds that the property was "old and dilapidated".
Gyan Prakash Saxena, who is a resident of the Govindpuram area, had sought compensation from SBI General for his Baghpat house that suffered considerable damage in a storm.
Saxena had obtained two insurance policies, with a coverage of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 9 lakh, respectively, as part of his home loan agreement with SBI.
The incident occurred on May 28, 2021, when uprooted mulberry and mango trees crashed onto Saxena's house after a severe storm, causing substantial damage to the walls and creating cracks on the floor.
When Saxena approached the insurance company, their IRDA-authorised surveyor allegedly demanded a bribe to process the claim. When he refused, the company significantly reduced the compensation, citing the property's age as justification, Saxena claimed before the commission.
by Taboola
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Although the insurance company acknowledged the policy coverage of Rs 7.8 lakh — valid till Nov 2027 — it insisted on applying a 73.6% deduction to the assessed damage worth Rs 1,08,275, offering only Rs 28,585 as compensation.
During the course of the hearing, commission president Praveen Kumar Jain and member Shailja Sachan observed that the insurance company should have factored in the property's age and condition while issuing the policy initially.
The forum ordered the insurer's Delhi and Mumbai offices to pay the full assessed amount of Rs 1,08,275 — along with Rs 5,000 for litigation costs and mental agony — within 45 days.
While the consumer forum dismissed teh allegations against the surveyor-cum-assessor, maintaining their neutral role, the verdict set a crucial precedent for insurance claims involving older properties.
