Rajkot: A consumer commission in Bhuj has ordered a private insurance company to pay Rs 50.05 lakh to the widow of a 44-year-old engineer who died of coronavirus infection in 2021, even as it pulled up the firm for rejecting the life claim on ‘technical grounds’ and ignoring the extraordinary circumstances triggered by the pandemic.The deceased, Prashant Dudhaiya, had purchased the policy in Dec 2020, three months after resigning from his job in a private company. He died on June 14, 2021, but the insurer turned down the claim, stating that he had given incorrect information about his job and income while buying the policy. The company argued that Prashant had declared himself as a salaried employee earning Rs 4.68 lakh annually. However, records indicated that he had resigned from his position as a senior engineer, with his last working day being Sept 10, 2020 — nearly three months before the policy was issued.His widow, Jigna, moved the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission stating that her husband, a highly qualified engineer, had voluntarily resigned from his job at the height of the pandemic to shield his family from the risk of daily exposure to the virus, as his job required him to work onsite and did not allow him the option of working from home.She further argued that despite resigning from his former job, he possessed the professional qualifications and expertise to take up freelance engineering assignments or start an independent venture. To substantiate this, she submitted several years’ income tax returns along with bank statements to demonstrate his consistent income history and earning potential.“The commission observed that the insurer rejected the claim solely on technical grounds relating to his immediate employment status while overlooking his qualifications, inherent earning capacity and the unprecedented global conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The forum also noted that there was no malicious intent on the part of the policyholder to conceal information,” said Jigna’s advocate Mahendra Thacker.The commission also observed that the company, besides ignoring the deceased’s proven earning capacity, overlooked the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic that had forced many professionals to leave jobs or alter their work patterns.
