Date:25/02/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/02/25/stories/2007022514350300.htm

Karnataka - Bellary

LIC told to pay Rs. 1 lakh to woman

Staff Correspondent

BELLARY: The Bellary District Consumers' Grievance Forum has directed the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to pay a complainant Rs. 1 lakh, which was the sum assured to her husband, who had been a policyholder, along with the interest at the rate of six per cent.

Gangubai had complained before the forum that her husband had taken the "Jeevan Anand" policy for Rs. 1 lakh on July 5, 2005. He died on August 8, 2005. She said that when she had approached the LIC, it had refused to repay the amount, saying that the policyholder had been suffering from tuberculosis, which he had not disclosed at the time of making the policy.

Forum president Shekargowda Patil, along with members G. Basavaraj and M. Annapurna, held that there had been a "service lapse" on the part of the LIC and directed it to pay the complainant the policy amount of Rs. 1 lakh along with the interest at the rate of six per cent. The forum also directed the LIC to pay the complainant Rs. 2000 for causing her "mental agony" and Rs. 1,000 towards additional costs, within a month.