Chandigarh

DF-I

CC/104/2018

Lakhwinder Singh - Complainant(s)

Versus

Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Company Limited - Opp.Party(s)

In Person

16 Oct 2019

ORDER

 DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM-I,

U.T. CHANDIGARH

                                     

Consumer Complaint No.	:	CC/104/2018
Date of Institution	:	22/02/2018
Date of Decision	:	16/10/2019

 

Lakhwinder Singh son of Sh. Dharampal resident of Village Jalbehra, District Kurukshetra, Haryana, India.

… Complainant

V E R S U S

1. Reliance Nippon Life Insurance Company Limited, Registered Office :

          ‘H’ Block, 1^st Floor, Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra 400710, India, through its authorized signatory.

2. Reliance Commercial Finance Limited, 1^st Floor, SCO 309-310, Sector 35B, Chandigarh 160022 through its authorized signatory.

… Opposite Parties

CORAM :	SHRI RATTAN SINGH THAKUR	PRESIDENT
	MRS. SURJEET KAUR	MEMBER
	SHRI SURESH KUMAR SARDANA	MEMBER

                                                                    

ARGUED BY	:	Complainant in person
	:	Sh. Gaurav Bhardwaj, Counsel for OP-1
	:	Sh. Sandeep Suri, Counsel for OP-2

Per Rattan Singh Thakur, President

1.         The allegations in brief, as set out in the consumer complaint, are, complainant on 13.1.2016 had availed term loan/agri. loan of Rs.10.00 lakh from the OPs which was repayable in installments as fixed in the agreement.
    Smt. Kusum Rani i.e. the wife of the complainant was the co-borrower in the loan and in the insurance plan she was also covered under the death benefit paid on first death basis and the cover of the surviving member ceases immediately.  Smt. Kusum Rani was suffering from diabetes and had died on 20.5.2017 at PGI, Chandigarh.  The claim was submitted by the complainant on her death alongwith the relevant documents, but, it was not processed by the OPs.  Per terms and conditions of the policy, loan was to be waived off on the death of the co-borrower, Smt. Kusum Rani.  Thereafter legal notice was issued but it was not responded.  Hence, the present consumer complaint for directing the OPs to waive off/terminate the loan and release the insurance benefits to the complainant regarding the death of co-borrower, Smt. Kusum Rani; pay Rs.1.00 lakh as compensation and Rs.22,000/- as cost of litigation. 
2.         OPs contested the consumer complaint and filed separate written replies. The crux of the reply of OP-1 is the consumer complaint being not maintainable as the deceased Smt. Kusum Rani was not insured under the policy and only Sh. Lakhwinder Singh, complainant was the sole borrower. The amount insured was Rs.10.00 lakhs for the period from 10.2.2016 to 10.2.2023 per the terms and conditions of the policy. Their further case is, premium amount of Rs.6,824/- was paid for the said coverage by Sh. Lakhwinder Singh and his nominee under the policy was Smt. Kusum Rani.  Hence, per policy, in case of death of insured, answering OP has to indemnify against the balance loan as per policy schedule. Since Smt. Kusum Rani was the nominee under the policy of the complainant, therefore, no claim is payable to the complainant on the death of Smt. Kusum Rani.  Their case is, parties are bound by the terms and conditions of the insurance agreement under which this claim was payable, therefore, it was rightly not processed.
3.         OP-2 furnished its separate written reply that complainant be directed to furnish the loan agreement under which deceased, Smt. Kusum Rani was covered for the insurance.  Only the premium of Rs.6,824/- inclusive of taxes had been paid under which the complainant was covered and there is no coverage in respect of the co-borrower mentioned under the policy.  Maintained, deceased, Smt. Kusum Rani had been shown as the nominee and not the insured person. There is no document to this effect on record produced by the complainant nor in fact it was executed inter se parties at the time of loan agreement.  On these lines, the cause is sought to be defended.
4.         Perusal of the record shows despite grant of opportunities, no rejoinder was filed by the complainant and only rebuttal evidence was led in the shape of affidavit.
5.         Parties led evidence by way of affidavits and documents.
6.         We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and gone through the record of the case. After perusal of record, our findings are as under:-
7.         Per pleadings of the parties, it is the case, deceased Smt. Kusum Rani is stated to be the wife of the complainant.  It is so stated under paragraph No.4 of the consumer complaint and the OP had also mentioned the said relationship of Smt. Kusum Rani with the complainant.  While in fact, per certificate of insurance (at page 21), the relationship of Smt. Kusum Rani with the complainant was mentioned to be a mother.  Not only this, the name of the father of the complainant Sh. Lakhwinder Singh is Dharam Pal and in the death certificate (at page 109) deceased Smt.Kusum Rani is shown as the wife of Sh. Dharam Pal.  This shows Smt. Kusum Rani is the mother of the complainant and not his wife, as was wrongly pleaded in the pleadings of the parties, and it seems the pleadings have been drafted in a perfunctory manner. 
8.         Per pleadings of the parties, case of the OPs is plain and simple of Smt. Kusum Rani was not the insured under the policy.  Rather she happened to be the nominee of the complainant in the event of his death during the validity of the insurance period.  Now we shall have a glance to the recitals contained in the certificate of insurance. The relevant portion of the certificate of insurance is reproduced below :-

Insured person’s details			Nominee details (as per the provision of Section 39 of the Insurance Act, 1938).
Client ID/ member ID	40001287_RLALAMB000319276		Name	Kusum Rani
Name of the member	Lakhwinder Singh		Relationship with Life Assured	Mother
Member type	Borrower		Appointee Name	NA
Date of birth/ Age at entry	10.10.1984	31 years	Appointee Age	NA
Gender	Male
Loan amount	Rs.1000000/-
Type of loan	Commercial property loan

 

9.         This shows, Sh. Lakhwinder Singh, complainant is the person insured and the name of Smt. Kusum Rani nowhere figures in the column of insured persons detail and her name figures in the nominee details. Thus, the basic document i.e. the foundation of the case of the complainant does not support his case as Smt. Kusum Rani is not the person insured, but, Sh. Lakhwinder Singh.  She happened to be his nominee in case death of the complainant had taken place during the validity period of the insurance policy. 
10.         The complainant wants to make mountain out of a molehill of details of benefit appended in the policy showing in case of co-borrower also covered under the plan, death benefit is paid on first death basis and the cover for the surviving member ceases immediately. It was in case of a co-borrower, but, we may refer here, it was a commercial property loan and the name of co-borrower does not find mention in the certificate of insurance as this matter is concerned with the insurance policy and not with regard to the loan and the status of Smt. Kusum Rani has been mentioned as nominee and not the co-borrower.  Thus, the contents of this certificate of insurance will not come to the help of the complainant to claim death benefits of nominee Smt. Kusum Rani.  No certificate of insurance produced by the complainant to show she was a co-borrower and in the event of her death, the first borrower i.e. Sh. Lakhwinder Singh, complainant was entitled for waive off/termination of the loan and claim the sum assured.  Even the frequency of premium payment as referred in the policy (at page 21) is single of Rs.6,824/-.  The claim of the complainant is without legs and does not stand up in the eyes of law and outrightly deserves dismissal being meritless.
11.         In view of the above discussion, the present consumer complaint is dismissed leaving the parties to bear their own costs.
12.         The certified copies of this order be sent to the parties free of charge. The file be consigned.

	Sd/-	Sd/-	Sd/-
16/10/2019	[Suresh Kumar Sardana]	[Surjeet Kaur]	[Rattan Singh Thakur]
hg	Member	Member	President