Bharti AXA fined for turning wife of deceased consumer away

The Mumbai suburban district consumer dispute redressal forum recently pulled up the Bharti AXA general insurance for wrongly repudiating the claim of one of its consumers. The firm was penalised to the tune of Rs 702114. The forum asked the firm to pay the amount along with 9% interest rate, starting from 2011, besides an additional Rs 25000 towards the complainant's mental agony.

The case dates back to 2010, when Milind Sahastrabuddhe, an employee of M/s Transasia Bio-medical Limited, died in an accident while on duty. His wife Seema Sahastrabuddhe then approached the insurance company, seeking compensation. The insurance company, however, repudiated the claim, saying the deceased was under the influence of alcohol at the time.

Then Seema approached the forum. After going through the evidence, the forum asked the insurance firm to file its reply. The company maintained its stance.

After going through all the documents, the forum stated, "Even if the consumer was under the influence of alcohol, he was not working on a machine or driving a vehicle at the time. He died in an accident. It is the company's responsibility to pay for the human loss."