National Consumer Disputes Redressal
Vinit Poonia vs New India Assurance Co. Ltd. on 16 February, 2012
NATIONAL CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION NEW DELHI REVISION PETITION No. 2203 of 2007 (From the Order dated 20.02.2007 in Appeal No. 1209/2005 of the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Haryana) Vinit Poonia S/o Sh. Partap Singh Poonia R/O House No.1, Sunder Nagar, Fatehabade, Tehsil and District Fatehabad Haryana .. Petitioner VERSUS 1. New India Assurance Co. Ltd. Divisional Office, Sirsa Through Sh.A.K. Longani, Deputy Manager, Regional Office SCO No. 36-36, Sector 17 A Chandigarh 2. New India Assurance Co. Ltd. Branch Office Fatehabad Through A.K. Longani, Deputy Manager, Regional Office SCO No.36-36, Sector 17A, Chandigarh . Respondents BEFORE: - HONBLE MR. JUSTICE ASHOK BHAN, PRESIDENT HONBLE MRS. VINEETA RAI, MEMBER For the Petitioner : Mr. Abhishek Gautam, Advocate For the Respondent : Ms. Namita Sharma, Advocate PRONOUNCED ON: 16.02.2012 O R D E R
ASHOK BHAN, J., PRESIDENT Complainant
- Petitioner herein has filed this Revision Petition against the judgment and order dated 20.02.07 passed by the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Haryana (in short, the State Commission) in appeal no. 1209/05 whereby the State Commission has partly allowed the appeal filed by the Respondent Insurance Company and modified the order of the District Forum to the extent that the Insurance Company shall be liable to pay Rs.2,20,325/- on repair basis instead of Rs.4,40,000/- on total loss basis to the Complainant along with interest @ 9% p.a. from the date of intimation of the repudiation of the claim till payment.
FACTS:-
Complainant/Petitioner is the registered owner of the vehicle (Mahindera Bolero GLX EI-2002 Jeep) bearing registration No. HR-03L-0007. He got the vehicle insured with the Respondent No.2 on 15.01.03 for a period of one year and paid the insurance premium of Rs.16,731/-. On 17.10.03, the vehicle was going from Fatehabad to Hisar and when it reached near Village Baropal, suddenly a blue cow (Neel Gai) dashed against the vehicle as a result of which it was damaged completely. Intimation about the accident was given to the insurance company on 17.10.03 itself. Respondent appointed M.C. Chitra, Spot Surveyor who found the vehicle to be totally damaged and not in a condition of being repaired. Respondent, thereafter appointed A.S. Duggal, Surveyor and Loss Assessor to assess the loss. A.S. Duggal inspected the vehicle and after several months of accident submitted his report. As per his report, the loss was not total and the vehicle could be repaired.
He assessed the loss at Rs.2,20,325.66. According to him, the accident was due to a mechanical failure. One of the reasons given was that the engine assembly had run without the engine oil for substantial time.
According to the said report, the damage to the engine of the vehicle was due to mechanical failure for which the Insurance Company was not liable to indemnify the Petitioner. Petitioner vide his letter dated 19.02.04 informed the Respondent that the report of the Surveyor was not acceptable. However, on the basis of report of A.S. Duggal, Surveyor, the Respondent Insurance Company informed the Petitioner that in case of assessment of loss less than 75% of the sum insured, they were liable to settle the claim on repair basis as per IRDA guidelines. They also requested the Petitioner to get the vehicle repaired and submit the bill accordingly. Petitioner did not get the vehicle repaired as according to him, the claim was required to be settled on total loss basis. Finally, the Insurance Company vide letter dated 12.07.04 repudiated the claim and closed the file.
Petitioner, being aggrieved, filed the complaint before the District Forum seeking a direction to the Respondent to settle the claim on total loss basis and to pay Rs.4,40,000/- towards the price of the vehicle along with interest @ 18% p.a. apart from Rs.20,000/- as compensation.
Respondent, on being served, put in appearance and filed its written statement resisting the complaint, inter-alia, on the grounds that the vehicle had not suffered total loss in the accident and in fact the quantum of loss was less than 75% of the insured sum because there was no direct impact on the engine assembly.
That the Petitioner was requested to get the vehicle repaired and submit the bill accordingly but he failed to do so.
District Forum came to the conclusion that the vehicle had been extensively damaged and could not be repaired. Accordingly, District Forum allowed the complaint and directed the Insurance Company to pay Rs.4,40,000/- to the Petitioner on total loss basis after deducting salvage value of 8,825/- along with interest @ 9% p.a. from the date of repudiation of the claim till realization.
Respondent, being aggrieved, filed the appeal before the State Commission. State Commission found that the engine assembly had run without the engine oil for substantial time which caused seizure of the engine assembly. That as per terms and conditions of the policy, the Insurance Company was not liable to indemnify for the loss caused due to any mishap or mechanical failure. That there was no evidence on record to show that the vehicle was completely damaged and the same could not be repaired. State Commission, accepting the report of A.S. Duggal, Surveyor who had assessed the loss at Rs.2,20,325.66 on repair basis, partly allowed the appeal and directed the Respondent to pay Rs.2,20,325/- to the Petitioner along with interest @ 9% p.a. from the date of intimation of repudiation of the claim till realization.
Counsel for the parties have been heard at length.
M.C. Chitra, Spot Surveyor after inspection and physical verification of the vehicle at spot, reported that the vehicle had sustained the damages listed below:-
- Bonnet assy, dented/pressed.
- Both fender ft. dented.
- Body shell damaged. - Back
door panel dented/damaged and its glass broken.
- All four doors assy, dented/damaged, centres pillers of doors bent.
- Doors handles, trims, beedings and glasses broken and door glass machine of L/side doors damaged.
- L/aide side body damaged. - Roof
panel dented/damaged, top cowl panel dented, dash panel bent, roof cloth brust.
- Rear L/side and R/side panel dented. - Tail lamp
L/side broken and rear bumper plate lights broken.
- Rear bumper broken, sunshed damaged, roof mirror broken.
- L/side ft and rear fender extension broken - Ft. WS
glass laminated broken with rubber damaged.
- Ft WS glass pillers both damaged. - Ft
grill broken, ft bumper broken, Headlight RH broken, Indicator ft R/side broken, R.V. Mirror R/L broken, Wipper assy damaged, Air cleaner assy damaged.
- Chassis frame bent/dis-aligned. - All sheets frame/channel disturbed. - All leaf springs assy damaged. - Battery Acid drain out. - Radiator assy and accondenser assy damaged. - Engine found dead, as engine oil drain out. - Every
care has been taken in noting down all the possible and visual damages sustained to insured vehicle, if any interior damaged round may be checked at the time of final survey, keeping in view nature and cause of accident.
- Report is issued without prejudice and subject to policy terms and conditions.
A.S Duggal, Surveyor detailed the damages suffered by the vehicle at the time of accident as under:-
Damages:-
1.
The front bumper (painted) RHS, front grill with monogramme were broken and damaged. The front bumper brackets with stay RHS were pressed and bent.
2. The complete body shell both sides was badly pressed, dented and pushed inside.
The body shell both sides including the fender, both doors, quarter panel inner and outer were pressed, buckled and bent. The bonnet, front grill shell were pressed, pushed inside and dented. The bonnet inside support structure, bonnet much striker were pressed, buckled and bent. The frond wind screen glass frame, cowl top panel, dash board inside support structure both sides were pressed and bent. The roof panel, roof frame supports both side, roof lining were bent and buckled. The dicky was pressed and bent. The complete body shell was twisted and bent.
3. The front and rear glasses with weather strip, both side door glasses with frame were broken and damaged.
4. The right front suspension including the right front wheel rim, suspension arm were pressed, pushed inside and bent.
5. The steering assembly was pressed, bent and hard in movement.
6. The chassis frame both side longitudinal members, cross member were pressed, bent and buckled. The engine mountings with brackets were pressed, sheered and cut.
7. The engine assembly was seized as the complete engine oil leaked out from the sump. It is understood that the engine assembly was running without the engine oil at the time of mishap. However, there is no direct impact on to the engine assembly.
After giving the above details of damages caused to the vehicle, A.S. Duggal, Surveyor had given the details of the estimates on repair basis and concluded that net payable loss came to Rs.2,20,325.66. Salvage value was assessed at Rs.8,825/-.
A perusal of the reports submitted by M.C. Chitra, Spot Surveyor and A.S. Duggal, Surveyor and Loss Assessor shows that the vehicle in question was extensively damaged. As per report of the spot surveyor, apart from the damage to the body of the vehicle, basic components based on which the vehicle runs were badly damaged, chassis frame was bent/dis-aligned, all sheets frame/channel were disturbed, all leaf springs assembly damaged, radiator assembly and accondenser assembly were damaged and engine was found to be dead as the engine oil drained out. Similarly, as per report submitted by A.S. Duggal, Surveyor and Loss Assessor, the complete body shell of the vehicle both sides were badly pressed, dented and pushed inside; the steering assembly was pressed, bent and hard in movement; the chassis frame both side longitudinal members, cross member were pressed, bent and buckled, the engine mountings with brackets were pressed, sheered and cut and the engine assembly was seized as the complete engine oil leaked out from the sump. His conclusion was that the accident was caused due to mechanical failure as the engine assembly has run without engine oil for a sufficient time. This conclusion of the surveyor cannot be accepted as he never opened the engine assembly. The vehicle met with an accident while it was running. Because of the impact of the vehicle many parts of the body of the vehicle were damaged/destroyed and possibly the engine oil leaked out at the spot itself. He also concluded that the vehicle could be repaired and, accordingly, assessed the loss on repair basis. From the report of the spot surveyor and the loss assessor it is evident that the damage to the vehicle was extensive. Both sides of the body shell of the vehicle had been badly pressed; right front suspension including the right front wheel rim, suspension arm were pressed, pushed inside and bent; steering assembly was pressed, bent and hard in movement; chassis frame both side longitudinal members, cross members were pressed, bent and buckled; the engine mountings with brackets were pressed, sheered and cut which show that all the vital parts of the vehicle including the chassis engine alignment, etc., had been damaged. Looking to the extensive damage caused to the vehicle we are of the opinion that the vehicle could not be repaired. It was a fit case of total loss as the car was not in a repairable condition.
For the reasons stated above, the Revision Petition is allowed and the order of State Commission is set aside. Since the vehicle was insured on 15.1.03 and it met with an accident on 17.10.03, we direct the Respondent Insurance Company to pay the insured sum of Rs.4,40,000/- after deducting 15% towards the depreciation and cost of the salvage, to the complainant along with interest @ 9% p.a. from the date of repudiation till realization within a period of 8 weeks from the date of receipt of copy of the order. If any amount is already paid to the Complainant in terms of the order of the State Commission, the same may also be adjusted against the amount payable to the Complainant.
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(ASHOK BHAN J.) PRESIDENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(VINEETA RAI) MEMBER Yd/