Indore: Consumer court directs insurance company to pay Rs 17.85 lakh to family of fire victim

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The consumer court has directed an insurance company to pay Rs 17.85 lakh as compensation to the family of person who died in a fire incident.

The court issued the order on Wednesday after a five-year-long legal battle and directed the insurance company to pay the amount within a month.

The victim, Gopi Leena More, owner of a firecracker shop situated at Ranibagh, succumbed to his burns on April 18, 2017, after his shop caught fire.

Gopi had taken out two insurance policies with a prominent insurance company and paid a premium of Rs 1.5 lakh each. He had nominated his father Kapeesh More as his nominee.

When the family submitted the claim, the insurance company refused to pay saying that a case of suicide was registered against Gopi at the local police station, stating that life insurance claims are not honoured in case the insured person commits suicide.

However, when police investigation concluded that it was not a case of suicide but an accident, the family again approached the insurance company claiming the insurance amount. This time, the insurance company refused to honour the claim by saying that the fire had occurred due to the victim’s negligence.

The More family lodged a case at the district consumer court but it was dismissed. Later, they appealed against the judgement in the State Commission, and it ruled in their favour. The court also asked the company to pay 9 per cent annual interest on the amount and an additional Rs 75,000 for mental agony suffered by the family.