Insurer right to reject claim on unregistered vehicle: State consumer commission

Dehradun: The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has set aside a Haridwar District Commission order that had ruled in favour of a consumer in an insurance claim dispute involving ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company.The case relates to a Honda Activa 3G DLX purchased by Omdatt Pundir from Sansar Ventures Private Limited on Feb 26, 2016. The vehicle met with an accident on March 10, 2016, during the insurance policy period. However, it had not been registered by the date of the accident, leading the insurer to reject the claim.The district commission had earlier directed the insurance company and the dealer to reimburse the cost of the vehicle along with interest, holding that there had been a “deficiency in service”.Challenging the order, ICICI Lombard argued that the scooter was being driven on a public road “without valid registration, in violation of section 39 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988”.Upon review, the state commission highlighted the legal violations, noting that the application for registration was submitted on the day of the accident, while the vehicle was registered only on March 15, 2016. It held that the insurance company was “justified in rejecting the claim due to non-compliance with legal requirements, and therefore no deficiency in service could be attributed to the insurer”.Accordingly, the commission allowed the insurance company’s appeal, dismissed the complaint and directed that the amount deposited during the appeal proceedings be refunded to the insurer.