Consumer Commission asks LIC to pay Rs 9.3 lakh to policyholder’s widow

The LIC has recently been asked by the apex consumer commission to pay Rs 9.3 lakh to the widow of a policyholder for repudiating their claims in the context of concealing information about a previous treatment and hospitalisation. LIC’s review petition has been dismissed by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) while it upheld the Wardha district consumer forum’s order directing to pay the claim amount to Ratna, wife of deceased Digambarrao Thakre. LIC had refused to pay two of Thakre’s claims in 2003, saying he had suppressed information about treatment undergone for asthma prior to taking the policy. However, the commission mentioned that there was no evidence that Thakre was suffering with any disease on the day the policies were issued to him and said that even if Thakre had such an illness earlier, he was healthy at the time when LIC had issued him the policies, therefore the contract cannot be vitiated on the grounds of suppression of facts. “A contract of this nature cannot be termed bad and be terminated on ground of having obtained by fraud or can be declared as vitiated on facts which were not in existence on the day of contract,” NCDRC presiding member Deepa Sharma said.