Most of us do not remember our car insurance policy details off the back of our hand. Many times, the death of the sole financial decision maker, or the breadwinner of a family, leaves behind members who are unaware of policy details. This might lead people to believe that your insurer can reject your claim or that you are ineligible to make one altogether.
But according to a recent verdict by the Jharkhand High Court in the case of Reliance General Insurance Company Limited vs. Lilmuni Madaiyan, your insurer cannot validly reject your claim on merely the grounds that you did not provide correct information related to your motor insurance policy.
Read on to know what you can do to get your claim successfully approved in the event of an accident, in case you are unable to provide your policy details correctly to your insurer.
The case, as it happened
In June 2010, Lakhichand Maraiya, a skilled carpenter earning Rs 9,000/month, was involved in a road accident, which resulted in his immediate death. His wife and children filed a complaint with the MACT (Motor Accident Claims Tribunal).
In 2016, the tribunal awarded them a compensation of around Rs 20 lakh (Rs 20,49,000) and directed the insurer, i.e., Reliance General Insurance, to pay the same. However, the general insurer contested this in the court, saying that the claimants, i.e., the third party (owner of the offending vehicle) who caused the accident, had provided them with the wrong policy number, thereby absolving them of any liability to pay claims associated with the accident.
