The Supreme Court on Monday directed the NCDRC to reconsider the amount of compensation under an insurance policy for losses suffered by a company in 2005. The company had sought compensation from the insurance firm for the losses caused by the collapse of its factory shed.
The Supreme Court on Monday gave an important direction to the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC). Under this, the court directed the NCDRC to reconsider the amount of compensation payable under an insurance policy for the loss suffered by a company in 2005. This order was given by a bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice Augustine George Masih while hearing the appeal of the insurance company against the decision given by the NCDRC in August 2022.
Let us tell you that NCDRC had earlier held that the insurance company should compensate the company as the company had suffered losses due to the collapse of the factory shed. On this, the Supreme Court said that the company had taken a comprehensive insurance policy against fire and special perils from the insurance firm. The period of this policy was from 30 June 2005 to 29 June 2006.
The insurance company refused to pay compensation on this argument
The case was related to the loss of a company, which was affected due to the collapse of its factory shed due to heavy rains in 2005. The company had sought compensation of Rs 91 lakh from the insurance company. After this, the insurance company appointed a surveyor, who estimated the loss to be only Rs 8.89 lakh and claimed that this loss was not due to flooding, so it was not covered under the policy.
NCDRC directed to pay compensation
The company then complained to the NCDRC on the argument given by the insurance company regarding compensation, in which it cited the assessment done by an independent surveyor, in which the amount of loss was stated to be Rs 46.97 lakh. Accepting this report, the NCDRC directed the insurance company to pay compensation of Rs 46.97 lakh.
Instructions to reconsider
After this, the insurance company challenged this decision, saying that the NCDRC did not properly consider the amount of compensation. During the hearing on this, the Supreme Court said that the NCDRC did not properly consider the surveyor’s report submitted by the insurance company and increased the compensation amount without proper assessment. Also, the Supreme Court sent this case to the NCDRC and directed it to reconsider the amount of compensation and also asked to take a quick decision on the matter on priority basis.
