Jaguar owner gets ₹2L after insurer rejects rain damage claim
What's the story
A luxury car owner has won a compensation of ₹2.02 lakh from an insurance company after his claim for rainwater damage was denied. The case involved a Jaguar that was damaged when the owner accidentally left the driver-side window slightly open in August 2021. The incident caused damage to the infotainment system and some other parts of the vehicle. The case eventually went before the Chhattisgarh District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, which ruled in favour of the car owner.
Claim denial
The insurer denied the claim
The insurer's surveyor assessed the damage at ₹1.98 lakh but the owner claimed he spent ₹2.73 lakh on repairs.
However, on February 4, 2022, the insurer denied his claim saying that rainwater damage wasn't covered under their policy.
They also said leaving the window open was an act of gross negligence and violated insurance contract terms.
Ruling details
The car owner approached the consumer commission
Dissatisfied with the insurer's decision, the car owner approached the consumer commission and filed a complaint.
He alleged deficiency in service and unfair trade practice by the insurer for not providing complete policy terms when issuing his car policy.
The commission observed that only three out of four pages of the policy were submitted by the insurer, and those exclusions were not disclosed to him.
Exclusion clauses
What did the ruling say?
The commission ruled that undisclosed exclusions were not binding on the policyholder and rejecting the claim on these grounds was unjustified.
It also noted that additional terms and conditions presented by the insurer weren't part of the original policy.
The ruling stressed that since a copy of the policy's terms, conditions, and exclusions was not provided to him along with his insurance policy, those terms were not binding on him.