Court gives relief to Jabalpur consumer under Covid policy

Bhopal/Jabalpur: The district consumer forum in Jabalpur ordered an insurance company to pay the insured sum of Rs 2.5 lakh to a person under Corona Shield scheme with an interest of 7 per cent from the date he had applied for the amount. The forum also ordered the company to pay Rs 15,000 to the petitioner for mental and physical torture caused to him by the refusal to pay the amount and Rs 5,000 for litigation expenses.The complaint filed by 52-year-old Chetan Bari, a resident of Jhanda Chown, Adhartal, Jabalpur, said that he had bought a Corona Shield policy, which covered the expenses incurred during the treatment of Covid-19. The policy was valid from August 3, 2020 to May, 2021. He contracted Covid infection on September 25, 2020 and was admitted at Victoria hospital, Jabalpur, where he underwent treatment for five days. Later, when he applied for insurance claim, his claim was rejected on the ground that he had not taken “active treatment” as per the guidelines of the policy.A bench of district consumer forum comprising president Pankaj Yadav and member Manoj Kumar Mishra held that the refusal on the part of the insurance company to pay the insured sum was “deficiency in service” and liable for penalty in addition to payment of the amount due to the petitioner under the insurance policy. It directed the insurance company to pay the insured amount to the plaintiff with an interest of 7 per cent from March 7. 2021, the day when the company rejected his claim. It also directed to pay additional Rs 15,000 for mental and physical torture caused to the petitioner and Rs 5,000 for litigation expenses. Advocates Shivendra Pandey and Suyash Payasi appeared in the case for the plaintiff.