Bank fails to pay insurance claim, fined Rs 2L

Indore: Consumer forum ordered a private bank to pay Rs 2 lakh with an interest of 8% per annum from 2013 for failing to pay insurance cover to legal heir of a debit cardholder.

The forum also ordered bank to pay the complainant Rs 4,000 for physical and mental trauma and Rs 1,000 for expenditure occurred on complaint. Pushpa Saxena, a resident of Gwalior district, filed a complaint with consumer forum against one of the leading private banks of the country through her advocate Mahendra Dulani.

Dulani told forum that the complainant’s son Pankaj Saxena had an account in the bank and an international debit card was provided to him for transactions. Pankaj applied for a comprehensive personal accident insurance on April 13, in 2011 and he died in a road accident on September 13 in the same year, said Dulani.

Pushpa moved an application with the official of bank for closing of account and providing amount of insurance cover to her. Bank closed the account but not provided the insurance claim, said Dulani. She moved many applications for it but nothing was done. Pushpa sent a legal notice on July 23, 2012 to bank for the sum but bank failed to give it, said Dulani.

Bank’s advocate said that residential address of the complainant is in Gwalior and also Indore branch is not made party in the case, so the forum doesn’t have jurisdictional right to hear the case.

The forum bench comprising chairman Satyendra Joshi and member Kundan Singh Chouhan dismissed the argument of bank and decided the matter in favour of complainant.