Oriental Insurance told to pay Rs 25,000 to Khemka

Sandeep Rana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 17

Whistleblower Haryana IAS officer Ashok Khemka has scored a personal victory albeit on a different turf. Acting on his complaint, a district consumer court here has ordered Oriental Insurance Company Limited, Sector 17, to pay over Rs 25,000 for not paying him adequate insurance amount for his impaired TV set. 

The case was argued by his son Shreenath A Khemka, along with Khemka in person. The complainant averred that he and his wife jointly purchased the House Holders Package Insurance Policy from the company for the period from October 4, 2014 to October 3, 2015. Under the policy, a television set was insured for Rs 23,000 and the insurance firm was to indemnify the insured in the event of any damage to the 

insured item.

On June 3, 2015, he informed the firm about the breakdown of the TV set, which was sent to a 

service centre. 

The total repair estimate was for Rs 14,462, but, the service centre informed that the damaged part had been discontinued in its warehouse and hence the TV set was irreparable. After a protracted correspondence with Oriental, an amount of Rs 11,450 was credited into the complainant’s bank account in July last year by ignoring the report of its own surveyor. Khemka contended that the insured item was covered under the policy where full insured value was admissible without any depreciation. 

In its written reply, the opposite party said the TV was 10 years old and so its actual value could not be said to be Rs 23,000 and rather the same was the sum insured opted by the complainant. It has been contended that the loss of the complainant got assessed through a licensed surveyor and had already been paid as per the assessment carried out by the surveyor. 

“...the insurance company was liable to pay either the expenses that were necessary to restore the TV set to its former state of serviceability or to pay the actual value of the TV set immediately before the occurrence of the loss,” said the court in its order.

The forum ordered Oriental to pay the balance claim amount of Rs 10,550, Rs 10,000 as compensation for harassment and Rs 5,000 as litigation costs.