The Oriental Insurance Company told to pay woman Rs 47k for denying her repair claim

THE CHANDIGARH Consumer Forum has directed an insurance firm to pay Rs 47,100 to a Chandigarh woman for not paying claim on her repaired car. Mahima Suden of Chandigarh purchased a car (Renault KWID) from PMG Auto Private, a dealership of Renault, on August 12, 2016, and it was insured with the Oriental Insurance Company.

Suden said that on February 10, 2018, her car met with an accident near Amartex Panchkula. She applied brakes to save a dog. In the process, the car hit the road. But after a few minutes, the car stopped and did not start again. Suden said that she made a request at a toll-free number for assistance but no one came on behalf of Renault for rescue. As a result, she had to get her car towed herself to a nearby dealership in Panchkula where she was told that the engine oil tank of the car was damaged. The complainant requested that the same be replaced as it is covered under the insurance policy as well as the warranty. When Suden’s complaint was not addressed, she filed a formal complaint at the consumer forum on August 2, 2018.

Renault India in reply stated that they do not deal with the customer directly; the customer deals with the authorised dealer only. So they are not liable to compensate the customer. The dealership, PMG Auto, in reply submitted that it has no knowledge of the fact that the customer called the toll-free number for assistance and no one came from Renault for rescue and does not have any details of this and that the car was towed to other dealership/agency in Panchkula.

The Oriental Insurance Company in reply submitted that the complainant should not have made efforts to cruise further as it would have increased the quantum of damage and this is precisely what had happened in the present case. The replacement can only be done when there is a manufacturing defect or due to accident when the insured vehicle gets damaged and the loss comes in the ambit of terms and conditions of the policy.

After hearing the arguments, the forum held that Renault does not sell the vehicle directly to any of the new customers and thus there is no privity of contract between the complainant and Renault. The forum held that the consequential losses are not covered under the terms and conditions of the insurance policy but in the present case, the incident happened near Amartex Panchkula on February 10, 2018, and after a few minutes, the car did not start again and stopped. The towing of the vehicle is not disputed by any of the dealership or the insurance firm.

The forum opined that the denial of the repair claim pertaining to the replacement of the engine by the insurance company in toto is not justified. Keeping in view the facts and circumstances of the present case, the insurance company should have settled the repair claim amounting to Rs 42,142. The forum thus ordered the insurance company to pay Rs 31,600 for repair, Rs 10,000 as compensation and Rs 5,500 as cost of litigation charges.

Source: The Indian Express