By Jayasree Kallat, Member Petition was filed on 18.01.2010. The complainant is the holder of Jeevan Aadhar policy of LIC of India for an assured sum of Rs.50,000/- for the benefit of his son who is suffering from Down’s Syndrom . The complainant has paid the entire premium amount to the opposite party per policy year at the rate of Rs.4977/-. 10 years of period of the policy expired on 28.11.2007. After the date of maturity the complainant approached opposite party for benefit under the policy. The complainant was told that the benefit under the policy would become due only on the death of the complainant and that there is no provision for surrender or taking a loan. The LIC agent of opposite party had not disclosed these facts at the time of admission of the policy. Jeevan Aadhar policy was designed for the benevolent benefit for the welfare of disabled persons. Opposite party had deleted some of the clause assured by the agent. Sum assured payable as “on the stipulated date of maturity if the assured is then alive or at his death if earlier”. But this provision is seen deleted in the policy issued to the complainant. The complainant is alleging deficiency in service on the part of the opposite party for not paying the matured policy claim to the complainant even after the maturity period is over. This complaint is filed to get the 20% of the policy amount immediately and to pay pension to the dependent son along with compensation. Opposite party filed a version, denying the averments in the complaint except those that are expressly admitted. Opposite party admits the issuance of a policy on the life of Sri.Chandrahasan .P.M. with policy No.791730634. The sum assured was 50,000/- under plan No. 114(Jeevan Aadhar-without profits) for 99 years and premium payment term 10 years. Mode of payment of premium was Rs.4,977/- yearly. His son Praveen was the Nominee. This plan was introduced for the benefit of handicapped dependants. This is a whole life plan premiumunder which are payable for a chosen premium term or till death of the life assured. There is no maturity value under the policy. As per policy condition No.7, this policy will not be eligible for surrender and as per policy condition No.8 no loan will be granted under the policy. On the face of the policy it is very clearly mentioned about the benefits payable and event on the happening and special provisions. Life insurance policy is a bilateral contract between the insurer and the insured. The performance of the contract is strictly according to the condition and privileges in the policy document which is the evidence of the contract. The annuity under the policy will commence only after the death of the life assured. The policy is for the protection of the dependant handicapped person, after the death of the life assured. The complainant is taking up the matter about deleted condition after a long gap of more than 10 years. Opposite party has sold thousands of policies under this plan with the same conditions. There was no deficiency of service on the part of opposite party. As per the terms and conditions of this policy there is no maturity benefit under this policy during the life time of the assured. Therefore Opposite party prays to dismiss the petition. Points for consideration are :- Point No.1. Whether there was any deficiency on the part of Opposite party.? Point No.2. Whether the complainant is entitled for any benefit? The complainant was examined as PW1. Exts.A1 was marked on complainant’s side. No oral evidence was adduced by Opposite party.Ext.B1 was marked on OP’s side. Point No.1.The case of the complainant is that he is the holder of Jeevan Aadhar policy of LIC of India for an assured sum of Rs.50,000/-. Policy was taken for the benefit of his son who is suffering from Down’s Syndrom. The complainant had paid the premium amount @ Rs.4977/- for 10 years. According to the complainant the policy matured after 10 years. When the complainant approached the opposite party for the payment of the benefits under the policy the complainant was told that the benefit would become due only on the death of the complainant and that there is no provision for surrender or for taking loan. The complainant alleges that this stand taken by the opposite party was contrary to the assurance of the LIC agent while taking the policy.The provision assured by the agent is seen deleted in the policy issued to the complainant. Opposite party has taken the contention that the plan of insurance for the Jeevan Aadhar policy is designed in response to the general need and also the special provision introduced under Finance Act 1995 for the benefit of handicapped dependants. This is a whole life plan under which premium are payable for a chosen premium term or till death of the life assured. There is no maturity value under the policy. Jeevan Aadhar policy is a whole life policy with the option to the proposer to select the premium paying term. The complainant in this policy selected the premium paying term as 10 years and completed the term. This policy is for the benefit of the dependant handicapped individual and as per the condition of the policy the benefit will fall due only after the death of the life assured. The complainant has contented that as the premium payment period is over he is entitled to 20% of the amount in the policy and also the pension. On the face of the policy benefits payable and events on the happening of which these are payable are shown. It is clear that the question of payment of benefit under the policy will arise only on the death of the life assured. Which means the payment of benefit starts on the death of the life assured. The amount will remain as going fund till death of the life assured. It is for the protection of the handicapped after the life time of the parent. This plan has been designed in consultation with CBDT New Delhi. The premium paid by a person up to a certain limit are exempt under Section 80 DD of IT Act 1961. A request was made to CBDT, New Delhi to allow annuity payment under Jeevan Aadhar plan to commence after a certain age of the parent subscriber such as 55,58 or 60 years. The request has been considered in the last budgetary exercise and was not acceptable. Hence no benefit can be paid to the disabled dependants under the policy till the proposer survives. The complainant had approached Insurance Ombudsman. After considering the petitions and referring to the terms and condition of the policy and the findings of CBDT, Insurance Ombudsman dismissed the petition vide the order dtd.07.08.2009. The order is produced as ext.B1 by opposite party. The forum has looked into the different aspects presented by both the parties. In our opinion there was no deficiency on the part of the opposite parties. The Opposite party had acted upon the policy conditions. Point No.2. As the forum has found that there was no deficiency on the part of the opposite parties the complainant is not entitled for any relief sought in the petitions. In the result the petition is liable to be dismissed . Pronounced in the open court this the 14th day of October 2010. Date of filing:18.01.2010 SD/- PRESIDENT SD/-MEMBER SD/- MEMBER APPENDIX Documents exhibited for the complainant: A1. Photocopy of Insurance Policy No.791730634 dtd.28.11.1998. Documents exhibited for the opposite party: B1.Proceedings of the Insurance Ombudsman, Kochi. Award No. Witness examined for the complainant: PW1. P.M.Chandrahasan(Complainant) Witness examined for the opposite party: None Sd/-President //True copy// (For warded/By Order) SENIOR SUPERINTENDENT
| | [HONOURABLE MRS. Jayasree Kallat, MA.,] Member[HONOURABLE MR. G Yadunadhan, BA.,LLB.,] PRESIDENT[HONOURABLE MR. L Jyothikumar, LLB.,] Member | | 
