Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India
RAJKOT: A consumer court in Gujarat’s Jamnagar has directed LIC of India to pay Rs 12 lakh with 6% interest to a policyholder whose husband died of a heart attack in 2022. The court also ordered LIC to pay Rs 5,000 as compensation for mental harassment and Rs 3,000 towards legal expenses, holding that rejection of the claim amounted to “deficiency in service.” According to the complaint, Bharat Sheth died on Nov 16, 2022. He had two LIC policies worth a total of Rs 12 lakh, both issued on Nov 15, 2019. LIC rejected the claim of his widow, Neha Sheth stating that the policy had not completed three years and that the deceased had allegedly concealed information about being diabetic. Neha contended that her husband had held multiple LIC policies and had undergone LIC’s medical tests before issuance, which did not indicate diabetes. She argued that any mention of diabetes in hospital records may have been due to side effects of medication during treatment for brain tumour. Court noted that LIC’s own records showed no pre-existing illness and there was no provision in policy allowing claim rejection based on diabetes. It concluded that LIC had acted unfairly in denying the claim.
