Respected Sir
I am Satish Rajaram Dhage working for M/S JOHNSON & JOHNSON LIMITED as a General Technical Manager; under own your car scheme-B my company provided me HONDA City car model no S M/T Reg no MH 01 AH 5703 effective from Dec 10, 2008.The car allotted me by the company is a company property until the car is transferred in my name after five years. As per car scheme policy I am responsible for lodging insurance claims and completing the necessary formalities with insurance company whenever the car meets with the accident.
I was driving the car with my family on 20th Sep 2009 at 5.30 pm on Satara- Pandharpur road near Piliv on way back to Mumbai. The car came to halt without any indication sign on the dashboard. I tried to restart but it failed to start ignition. I immediately called Honda road assistance and explained the incidence and they advised me not to start the Engine and informed me that they will take the vehicle at nearest Honda service center which they did on the next day and delivered my car at DECCAN HONDA workshop Pune. The next day Deccan Honda workshop rep inspected vehicle and they observed a hole in the bottom part of Engine. The day after i.e. 25th Sep 2009 I personally visited Honda work shop and confirmed the same however there was no other damage seen on the vehicle.
On the same I have submitted insurance claim form duly filled and signed with supporting document to DECCAN HONDA workshop. The DECCAN HONDA workshop team further evaluated damaged and provided me the repair estimated of Rs 149250.00.
The insurance company surveyor inspected the vehicle and informed us as well as the DECCAN HONDA workshop the following response

“As per observation at the time of survey, oil sump and cross member of vehicle got damaged due to external impact. It’s also clearly observed that the engine seizure was due to the damage to vehicle and due to running of vehicle without engine oil or due to starting of vehicle without engine oil.

The above mentioned incident of engine seizure is a consequence of direct loss. Any losses resulting as a consequence of the direct loss are excluded under the policy as per the general exception 4(a). “Any accidental loss or damage to any property whatsever or any loss or expense whatsever resulting or arising there from or any consequential loss.”

The damages to the parts i.e. oil Sump and Cross member are result of the direct loss & we are committed to cover them as per policy terms & conditions. But we are unable to cover any consequential loss i.e. engine damages in this case.

Pls note total estimate provided by Deccan Honda is Rs. 149250/- and total insurance liability approx Rs.17000/- (as per part rate mentioned in estimate) less policy excess.”

The DECCAN HONDA workshop is cashless garage facility authorized by ICICI Lombard but the insurance company denied to accept total liability of Rs 149250 and only ready to pay Rs 17000. The DECCAN HONDA asked me to pay advance of Rs 60 000 so that they can start repair work because there was no commitment from insurance company on payment against estimate. In protest of insurance company decision I paid amount Rs 60000 via electronic cash transfer from my account and confirmed receipt of the same with workshop.
In the meantime I requested Honda to conduct detail investigation of my car damage and they provided following details on the same via DECCAN HONDA workshop
“At the outset, we regret the inconvenience caused.
During inspection carried out at our dealership the oil sump of your car was found damaged causing the oil to seep out and subsequently resulting in engine failure. Please note, in such event of overheating due to low engine oil level, Malfunction Indicator light glows on the dashboard and it is advised to stop the engine immediately to avoid damage to the engine.
Further, your car has Standard Warranty of 2 years or 40,000kms whichever is earlier and is also covered under extended warranty of additional 2 years or 40,000kms that warrants any defects in material and workmanship. Wherein, any Honda authorized dealer will repair or replace any part which proves defective within the limit of warranty at no charge to the customer for parts and labor. Please refer Warranty Booklet supplied with your car for further details.
However, incase of your car the oil sump has been damaged due to an external impact, also the damage in engine is attributable to running of the car at low engine oil levels. In the light of the above, the repairs would be beyond the purview of warranty.
We also wish to assure you on the performance of the engine post repairs. We assure you that your car will be repaired to your satisfaction by our dealership. “
I further protested the assessment of insurance company and manufacturer because of the following reason and communicated same to them.

1. The bottom of the car got damaged, leading to engine oil flowing out of the engine, resultantly, causing engine seizure. Damage to the vehicle as such was suffered on account of accident; Such damage cannot be taken to be consequential loss.
2. If suppose my car petrol tank was damaged and subsequently there was fire to the car in that situation does insurance company will only take responsibility of damaged petrol tank and not whole car.
3. There was no accident happened with me at the same time I have not seen any visual indication prior to car stoppage How can a person drives car without Engine oil as there was 2 inch size big hole created to the lower portion of Engine body that will hardly help anybody to continue driving.
4. Typically, every car has a net cover or some shield in the bottom to protect engine form direct hit however in this model there is no such protection cover exits which indicates that the manufacturer never considered Indian road condition while designing this car for India. I also requested them to fix some protective cover so that it will help to avoid similar incidence in future.

I further requested ICICI Lombard to revisit their assessment however they replied me with the same reason of excluding Engine damage under section 4 (a) of insurance policy i.e. consequential loss

Finally I approached insurance grievances cell of ICICI Lombard, again they responded me saying that

The policy covers only external damages, engine seizer is a consequential loss and same is not covered.
I have shared three similar examples (i.e. two from insurance ombudsman (USA) and a consumer compliant and court decision (India) )where insurance company classified Engine failure as consequential loss and denied to pay damage repair however under insurance ombudsman and consumer court decision they were advised to pay full compensation with interest and legal fee However the there is no change in ICICI Lombard decision.
Currently my car is with DECCAN HONDA workshop for more than one month and the repair work of car is not progressing because the dealership does not have spares required for Engine repair. On this regards I have made several Phone Calls to HONDA Company and dealership but there is no commitment on when they will complete the job.
With this may I request your kind help and support to get me justice from insurance company, car manufacturer & speed up repair work of my car from dealership
Thanks & regards

Satish Dhage
JOHNSON & JOHNSON LIMITED

Given below address details of different parties for future communication

Consumer
Satish Dhage
JOHNSON & JOHNSON LIMITED
Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg
Mu@@@@@
Mumbai - 400080
Tel 022 66413241
Mobile: 9870108673
Mail: sdhage@its.jnj.com

Insurance company
ICICI Lombard Motor Insurance
Zenith House,
Keshavrao Khade Marg,
Mahalaxmi,
Mumbai 400034
Tel no: Toll free 18002098888 (Insurance Surveyor: Sai Paluskar contact no: 9881724410)
Mail: insuranceonline@icicilombard.com

Dealership:
DECCAN HONDA
15 PUNE SATARA ROAD
OFF SHANKAR MAHARAJ MATH
DHANKAWADI
PUNE : 411043
Phone no: 020-2233618,24371400 / 24371500
Service adviser –Ganesh Vishwasrao Sutar- 9372233609
Service Manager -Rajesh Valavil-9372233775

Manufacturer:

Honda Siel Cars India Ltd.
Zonal Office - West
D-126, TTC Industrial Area,
MIDC Shiravane, Nerul,Thane-Belapur Road,
Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra. Pin - 400706.
Tel : 022 67895000 / 5001 / 5002 / 5003
Customer relations: 01202341310