Insurance firm to pay Rs 35K for not giving policy documents

A consumer forum here has directed an insurance firm to pay Rs 35,000 to its customer for not supplying her documents of a life insurance policy, while holding it "deficient" in service.
The Central Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, presided by Rakesh Kapoor, directed Bharti Axa Life Insurance Company Ltd to pay the amount as compensation and litigation charges to one Parneeta Sood and also asked it to supply the papers.
"We hold that the Opposite Party (firm) was deficient in rendering services to the complainant (Sood). Had it supplied the policy documents to her, she would have been in a position to exercise the option with regard to rejection of the policy within in free-look-in period," the forum said.

It directed the firm to pay Sood Rs 30,000 as compensation for pain and agony suffered by her and Rs 5,000 as the cost of litigation.
Sood had told the forum that she had purchased a life insurance policy from the firm in May 2010 but when she did not receive the original documents of the policy within two months, she approached the firm which, however, refused to supply it.
Aggrieved by this, Sood approached the forum for redressal of her grievance.

The firm, however, denied the allegations and said that the papers were delivered at her address through courier and a person had received it.

The forum, however, said that the firm failed to place on record the courier receipt or any proof of the fact that it had dispatched the policy documents to Sood.
"This makes us believe that the OP had not sent the policy documents to the complainant and has concocted a story of having dispatched the policy documents to her...," it said.
It also said the guidelines of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority make it obligatory on part of insurance companies to supply to the insured a copy of the proposal form along with the policy documents.
The guidelines also make it mandatory on the part of the insurance companies to intimate the customer that he/she has an option to accept or reject the policy within a period of 15 days which is usually described as free-look-in-period, it said.