After daughter's death, info power helped him sail through

All his life, 54-year-old Mulchand Vora (in pic) has lived with the belief that hard work will bring results and will save him from going around seeking help.

This faith of the father of four was tested when his 14-year-old daughter suddenly took ill, and died soon after, and his fight with the insurance company began for the medical cover the family had availed of.

“She was hospitalised in April with brain tumour and passed away 15 days later. As the expenses were high, we were forced to take help from our relatives. They have been kind to give us time to repay the loan,” said Vora.

“The medical bill was around Rs4 lakh, most of which we paid after borrowing from relatives,” he added. To repay them, the family sought Rs2 lakh from the insurance company.

“Vora had to follow up with the company for a year. The company kept rejecting his claim under one pretext or the other,” said a volunteer from Tarun Mitra Mandal which helped Vora tackle the issue with RTI.

Within three months of Vora’s RTI application, the company sought to negotiate the deal. “It asked us to settle for Rs2 lakh and directed the release of our money within two days. Ever since, for people like us, this has been a means of living with the hope that we won’t have go around asking for help,” said Vora.