Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu

CC/235/2017

AMIT GUPTA - Complainant(s)

Versus

New India Assurance - Opp.Party(s)

VS JAMWAL

08 Sep 2018

ORDER

DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM,JAMMU

(Constituted under J&K Consumer Protection Act,1987)

                                                          .

 Case File  No.                497/DFJ           

 Date of  Institution   :  30-03-2017

 Date of Decision      :    19-07-2018

 

Amit Gupta,

S/O Sh.S.K.Gupta,

R/O  4/7 Channi  Himmat,

Jammu.

                                                                                                                                                Complainant

                              V/S

 

New India Assurance Company Ltd.

Through its Divisional Manager,

Aquaf Market, Gandhi  Nagar,Jammu.

                                                                                                                                                                Opposite party

 

CORAM:-

                  Khalil Choudhary             (Distt.& Sessions Judge)   President

                  Ms.Vijay Angral                                                                 Member

                  Mr.Ghulam Sarwar Chauhan                                           Member

 

In the matter of: Complaint under section 10 of J&K Consumer Protection Act 1987.

                                                     

                              

Mr.V.S.Jamwal,Advocate for complainant, present.

Mr.Rupinder Singh,Advocate for OP,present.

 

                                                        ORDER

                        Grievance of complainant lies in short compass in that, according to complainant he had obtained insurance policy from OP bearing Policy No.35250048150500000115 w.e.f.02-12-2015 to 01-12-2016 and by way of this insurance policy household items electronics gadgets were insured, the description of which is provided in the schedule annexed with the insurance policy issued by OP (Annexure-A).According to complainant various items like plasma,TV,LG AC,OTG(Geln)Glass Inverter and transformer were damaged due to electric fluctuation. Complainant further submitted that he lodged his claim with respect to aforementioned items on,08-09-2016 and submitted all the bills of gadgets which required to be repaired and the OP was required to indemnify the complainant against loss caused to the items insured with the OP.So far as Plasma TV was concerned it was confirmed by the Authorised L.G.Service Centre i.e.Soft Care Point by way of letter dated 27-09-2016 that the panel of the Plasma TV which has been insured with the OP is no more in supply and there are unable to repair the same as the manufacturing of the said panel is out of manufacturing ,as such said company cannot provide any solution for this(copy of letter is annexed as Annexure-B).In these circumstances complainant provided complete cost of panel alongwith service charges which comes to Rs.22,500/-and Rs.500/-as service charges(copy of estimate dated 19-09-2016 is annexed as Annexure-C).  Whereas estimate for repairing was provided by L.G.Verma Enterprises on,25-09-2016,whereby estimate cost of repair including other charges to the extent of Rs.12647/-.Thereafter bill detailed invoice with respect to repair of AC was issued to complainant by the same agency which comes to Rs.11160.75,(copy of retail invoice is annexed as Annexure-D).That the complainant had incurred Rs.2800/-for repair of inverter and transformer and OTG(Glen)was fully damaged and the loss which the complainant had suffered for OTG to the tune of Rs.10000/-and the estimate loss caused to the Glass valuing Rs.7180/-was damaged when the complainant rushed to save other electrical gadgets(copy of certificate and bill annexed as Annexure-E).Allegation of complainant is that  Plasma TV was not repairable,therefore,company was required to indemnify the complainant to the extent of amount insured as mentioned in the insurance policy,whereas,after making assessment by the company arbitrary and one sidely had assessed total damage caused to various items to the extent of Rs.16875/-and the said assessed amount was credited to the account of complainant without his knowledge.Whereas,total loss to insured items to the extent of Plasma TV Rs.54000/-,AC Rs.11160.75/-,inverter and transformer Rs.2800/-,glass Rs.7180/-and OTG Rs.10000/-total valuing Rs.85140/-. According to complainant,on receiving information about the assessment of loss and credit the same to his account, on,16-02-2017 he immediately wrote a letter to OP that the assessment made by the company with respect to loss caused to various items is not correct and same has been assessed without any basis and unilateral assessment of loss (Annexure-F). In the final analysis, complainant prays for indemnification of loss actually caused to insured items and in addition also prays for  compensation of Rs.65,000/-including litigation charges.

          On the other hand,OP filed written version and resisted the complaint on the ground that the complaint is not maintainable against the Op as there is no deficiency in service on the part of OP in settling the claim of complainant. The OP acted with great promptitude and reasonable seriousness after the claim was filed with it in as much as the Divisional Office of the Company immediately deputed Sh.Gursharan Singh Modi Surveyor and Loss Assessor for assessment of loss reported by the complainant who after fully associating the complainant submitted his final surveyor report on,23-12-2016 and received by OP on,26-12-2016 has assessed net loss of the insured items Plasma(LG)at a sum of Rs.11,875/-and for Air Conditioner net loss assessed for a sum of Rs.5854.6/-and total loss assessed by the surveyor was a sum of Rs.17,729.60.It is further submitted that after final survey report was received by the Company and after going through liability assessed by the surveyor, total loss payable at a sum of Rs.16,875/-as detailed in the settlement intimation letter of OP dated 25-01-2017 and accordingly the said amount was disbursed to complainant, in this view of the matter the complaint under reply is misconceived and as such is liable to be dismissed. The Op further submitted that the surveyor had recommended the net loss on account of damage to Plasma(LG)at Rs.12,375/-and after deducting an amount of Rs.500/-on account of salvage made net loss at Rs.11,875/-in view of the less salvage value being a sum of Rs.1,000/-it was recommended that the net loss payable being a sum of Rs.11,375/-on account of damage to Plasma (LG)and further as against loss assessed on repair basis of AC of make (LG)a sum of Rs.6584/-net loss payable was a sum of Rs.5500/-after permissible deduction as reflected in the letter of the company dated 25-01-2017 and net loss was assessed at a sum of Rs.16,875/-which was duly credited into the account of complainant maintained with J&K Grameen Bank  as was provided to the company and as also admitted by the complainant in his complaint.

                Complainant adduced evidence by way of duly sworn evidence affidavit. Complainant has placed on record copy of policy schedule, copy of list of items, copies of communications, copy of invoice, copy of estimate, copy of retail invoice, copy of certificate issued by Kailash Refrigerators, copy of bill cash and copy of letter issued by complainant to OP.

              On the other hand,OP adduced evidence by way of duly sworn evidence affidavits of Gurdeep Singh Bali Divisional Manager, New India Assurance Co.Ltd. and Gursharan Singh Modi Surveyor and Loss Assessor,respectively.The Op has placed on record copy of claim form, copy of final survey report dated 23-12-2016 and copy of settlement intimation note.

              We have perused case file and heard L/Cs appearing for parties at length.

                 Briefly stated case of complainant is that he had obtained insurance policy from OP bearing Policy No.35250048150500000115 w.e.f.02-12-2015 to 01-12-2016 and by way of this insurance policy household items electronics gadgets were insured, the description of which is provided in the schedule annexed with the insurance policy issued by OP.According to complainant various items like plasma,TV,LG AC,OTG(Geln)Glass Inverter and transformer were damaged due to electric fluctuation. Complainant further submitted that he lodged his claim with respect to aforementioned items on,08-09-2016 and submitted all the bills of gadgets which required to be repaired and the OP was required to indemnify the complainant against loss caused to the items insured with the OP.So far as Plasma TV was concerned it was confirmed by the Authorised L.G.Service Centre i.e. Soft Care Point by way of letter dated 27-09-2016 that the panel of the Plasma TV which has been insured with the OP is no more in supply and there are unable to repair the same as the manufacturing of the said panel is out of manufacturing ,as such said company cannot provide any solution for this. In these circumstances complainant provided complete cost of panel alongwith service charges which comes to Rs.22,500/-and Rs.500/-as service charges, whereas estimate for repairing was provided by L.G.Verma Enterprises on,25-09-2016,whereby estimate cost of repair including other charges to the extent of Rs.12647/-.Thereafter bill detailed invoice with respect to repair of AC was issued to complainant by the same agency which comes to Rs.11160.75.That the complainant had incurred Rs.2800/-for repair of inverter and transformer and OTG(Glen)was fully damaged and the loss which the complainant had suffered for OTG to the tune of Rs.10000/-and the estimate loss caused to the Glass valuing Rs.7180/-was damaged when the complainant rushed to save other electrical gadgets. Allegation of complainant is that  Plasma TV was not repairable,therefore,company was required to indemnify the complainant to the extent of amount insured as mentioned in the insurance policy,whereas,after making assessment by the company arbitrary and one sidely had assessed total damage caused to various items to the extent of Rs.16875/-and the said assessed amount was credited to the account of complainant without his knowledge. Whereas, total loss to insured items to the extent of Plasma TV Rs.54000/-,AC Rs.11160.75/-,inverter and transformer Rs.2800/-,glass Rs.7180/-and OTG Rs.10000/-total valuing Rs.85140/-.According to complainant, on receiving information about the assessment of loss and credit the same to his account, on,16-02-2017 he immediately wrote a letter to OP that the assessment made by the company with respect to loss caused to various items is not correct and same has been assessed without any basis and unilateral assessment of loss.

                                On the other hand, stand of OP is that the complaint is not maintainable against the Op as there is no deficiency in service on the part of OP in settling the claim of complainant. The OP acted with great promptitude and reasonable seriousness after the claim was filed with it in as much as the Divisional Office of the Company immediately deputed Sh.Gursharan Singh Modi Surveyor and Loss Assessor for assessment of loss reported by the complainant who after fully associating the complainant submitted his final surveyor report on,23-12-2016 and received by OP on,26-12-2016 has assessed net loss of the insured items Plasma(LG)at a sum of Rs.11,875/-and for Air Conditioner net loss assessed for a sum of Rs.5854.6/-and total loss assessed by the surveyor was a sum of Rs.17,729.60.It is further submitted that after final survey report was received by the Company and after going through liability assessed by the surveyor, total loss payable at a sum of Rs.16,875/-as detailed in the settlement intimation letter of OP dated 25-01-2017 and accordingly the said amount was disbursed to complainant, in this view of the matter the complaint under reply is misconceived and as such is liable to be dismissed. The Op further submitted that the surveyor had recommended the net loss on account of damage to Plasma(LG)at Rs.12,375/-and after deducting an amount of Rs.500/-on account of salvage made net loss at Rs.11,875/-in view of the less salvage value being a sum of Rs.1,000/-it was recommended that the net loss payable being a sum of Rs.11,375/-on account of damage to Plasma (LG)and further as against loss assessed on repair basis of AC of make (LG)a sum of Rs.6584/-net loss payable was a sum of Rs.5500/-after permissible deduction as reflected in the letter of the company dated 25-01-2017 and net loss was assessed at a sum of Rs.16,875/-which was duly credited into the account of complainant maintained with J&K Grameen Bank  as was provided to the company and as also admitted by the complainant in his complaint.

 

                                   Be it noted that parties have filed evidence affidavits in support of their respective pleadings, which are more or less reiteration of respective pleadings,therefore,same need no repetition. It is further seen that the point of dispute is solely hinges on the ground, as to whether or not damage caused to electric items falls within the terms and conditions of Insurance Policy,therefore,we would like to advert to the findings of surveyor, which were made basis by OP while settling the claim.

              We have meticulously perused surveyor report dated.23-12-2016, issued by Gursharan Singh Modi,which reads as –

  Insurance Particulars

Policy No.                           :  35250048150500000115

Validity                               :  02/12/2015 to 01/12/2016

Risk covered                      :  As per householder Insurance policy

Sum insured                      :  Rs.23000/-on Window A.C (L.G.)and Rs.54000/-  

                                               on Plasma (LG)

 

Policy Schedule & Items of Sch.Affected

                    The insured has taken Households Insurance policy and the said Plasma (L.G.) Transformer(5KVA)Invertor (Local made) OTG (Glen)(Dining Table)and Window A.C.(L.G.)are covered under this policy.

Adequacy of Insurance

                The said Plasma(L.G.),Transformer (5KVA),Invertor(Local made),OTG(Glen),and Window A.C.(L.G.)are adequately insured.

Cause

Reportedly due to voltage fluctuation, the said Plasma(L.G.),Transformer(5KVA),Inverter(Local made),OTG(Glen),Glass (Dinning Table and Window A.C.(L.G.)got damaged and stopped working.

   Our Observations

                     During my visit to insured’s premises, the said Plasma(LG) Transformer (5KVA),Invertor(Local made) OTG(Glen) and Window A.C.(L.G.)were found not working.

                            The insured informed us that on date of loss due to fluctuation of voltage the said Plasma(L.G.)Transformer(5KVA), Invertor (Local made),OTG(Glen),and Window A.C.(L.G.)got damaged and stopped working.

   Later after checking of the items, the loss in Transformer,Invertor,OTG were found minor loss therefore, these items are not considered in the assessment.

 During inspection of Air conditioner(LG) the compressor of AC was found damaged and needs replacement.

During inspection of the Plasma the same was found not working. The repairer had submitted the estimate of repairs to the tune of Rs.22,500/-but also submit the certificate that the parts of the said Plasma are no longer in supply and as such they are unable to repair the same.

    As per the certificate of the repairer the said Plasma (LG)is not repairable.

 

    During our discussion with the repairer about commercial solution of the said Plasma (LG).To that the repairer conveyed to us that they are not providing commercial solutions to the products which are more than 5 years old.

     After confirming from the market it was found that the Plasma (LG)is no longer available in the market and the price of the base model of lED of similar make is around Rs.34,000/-.We than deduct 25% upgradation charges on the above value to arrive at the reasonable replacement price of the damage Plasma, which in our opinion is quite genuine.

   Then we deduct 50% dep.on the above value as the said Plasma (LG)was 6 years old.

  The damage to the Plasma (LG)and A.C.(LG)is plausible and inconformity with the nature and cause of occurrence.

 

                                    After going through the whole case with the evidence on record what reveals here is the case of complainant is genuinely filed with speaking reasons and merit as being consumer as per the purport of section 2(d) of Consumer Protection Act and Ops are the service providers having failed in their statutory duty to provide adequate and effective services. The purport of legislation is well defined and statutorily takes care of consumer rights and cannot legally afford to a situation like the one confronted herewith in a manner where they are deprived of their rights as of consumer. The consumers have to come forth and seek for redressal of their grievance. The case of the complainant is also genuinely filed for seeking determination of his right by this Forum.

                          Therefore, in view of aforesaid discussion complaint is allowed and OP is directed to reimburse balance amount of Rs.68,265/-(i.e.Rs.85,140/-Minus Rs.16,875/-=Rs.68,265/-) to the complainant. We further direct OP to pay Rs.10,000/-as compensation for causing harassment and mental agony to complainant and Rs.5000/-as cost of litigation. The OP shall comply the order within one month from the date of receipt of this order. Copy of this order be provided to both the parties as per requirement of the Act. On deposit of the amount in this Forum, the same shall be paid to the complainant through payees account cheque.The complaint is accordingly disposed of and file be consigned to records after its due compilation.

Order per President                                            (Khalil Choudhary)                               

Announced                                                           (Distt.& Sessions Judge)

19-07-2018                                                               President

                                                                            District Consumer Forum

Agreed by                                                                 Jammu.

                                                               

  Ms.Vijay Angral          

  Member                                                                                              

 

Mr.Ghulam Sarwar Chauhan

Member