C.C. No.72/2021

Smt. Aruna Samantaray,

W/o. Sri Prasanta Kumar Samantaray,

Prop.- Sai Baba Multimedia Groups,

At- Chiranjeeb Market Complex,

Mahaveer Road,

At/P.O.- Kujang,

Dist.- Jagatsinghpur....…….Complainant

                             (Versus)

1. ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd.,

Regd. Office- ICICI Lombard House, 414,

Veer Savarkar Marg,

Near Sidhi Vinayak Temple,

Pravadevi, Mumbai- 400025, Maharastra,

Represented by its Managing Director.

2. ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd.,
3.  

Satya Nagar, Bhubaneswar- 751007,

Dist.- Khurda,

Represented by its Branch Manager.…..… Opposite parties

For Complainant………..Mr. A. Prusty, Advocate

For Opposite Parties………..Mr. R. Pati & Associates

ORDER BY HON’BLE PRESIDENT- MR. P.K. PADHI:

                                                                                       JUDGMENT

             Complainant has filed the consumer complaint seeking direction to pay Rs.20,00,000/- towards insurance claim with 18% interest and Rs.5,00,000/- compensation for mental agony and cost. 

            Brief fact of the case is that the complainant in order to secure her Garment and Cloth materials shop titled as Saibaba Multimedia Groups at Chiranjeeb Market Complex, Mahabir Bazar, Kujanga had taken 3 policies from opposite parties. Out of 3 nos. insurance policies, 2 nos. of insurance policies i.e. Standard Fire and Special Perils Insurance Policy and Burglary Insurance Policy were valid from 6^th April, 2019 to 4^th April, 2020 and another policy i.e. Merchant’s Cover Policy was valid from 6^th April, 2019 to 5^th April, 2020. Due to Covid-19 Govt. imposed shut-down/lock-down and for the said incidents occurred only due to the fact that the shop was completely remained closed. For that period various types of insects came inside the shop room through the below shutter holes and it spread to various racks of the shop in which the cloths and dress materials stocked in the racks of the complainant’s shops causing an enormous damages to the said materials to such an extent that it became totally useless and wearable. Immediately, the complainant intimated the said facts to the opposite parties insurance company vide E-mail on 03.4.2020 in which she has narrated as to how she has sustained financial loss of Rs.20 lakhs approximately due to damage of cloths and dress materials stocked in her shop by the insects. Accordingly opposite parties appointed surveyor and loss assessor as per surveyor report the opposite parties inform the complainant that the said loss does not fall under any of the insured perils under the policy. In view of the same the surveyor has opined that the loss does not fall under the purview of the policy held by the complainant and opposite parties close the file due to non admissibility of the claim.

            The opposite parties have objected the prayer of complainant admitting to have issued the policies but the claim is not coming within the purview of contract and repudiate the claim and stated as under;

            On receipt of the claim intimation, the opposite parties appointed surveyor and loss assessor for inspection of shop room, who on careful observation of all materials available submitted its report stating there in that the materials damaged due to infected by insects and bugs, which was not disputed by the complainant. In the said report, it was observed that the cause of loss alleged does not fall under the purview of the contract of insurance.

            The complainant has not filed any document/material to show that damage of dress materials by insects and the same does not comes within the purview of insurance, for which we find no deficiency in service on the part of opposite parties in repudiating the claim. Hence we find no merit in the consumer complaint. Accordingly the consumer complaint is dismissed. No cost.   

            Pronounced in the open Commission on this 21^st June,2024.