Insurance claims must be processed fairly, with surveyor assessments upheld unless compelling evidence suggests otherwise.

1. Heard Ms. Sanjay S. Chhabra, Advocate, for the complainant and Ms. Sonia Malhotra Kumar, Advocate, for the opposite party.

2. M/s. Shital Fibres Limited has filed above complaint for directing United India Insurance Company Limited to pay Rs. 2,42,42,668 with pendent lite and future interest @ 18% per annum, i.e. the insurance claim and any other relief, which is deemed fit and proper, in the facts and circumstances of the case.

3. The facts, as stated in the complaint and emerged from the documents attached with the complaint, are as follows:
(a) The complainant (the Insured) was a company, registered under the Companies Act, 1956 and engaged in the business of manufacturing, selling and exporting of mink blankets and allied products. The Insured was a professionally managed company with complete backward and forward integration, i.e. manufacturing yarn from fibre, cloth from yarn, dyeing and printing cloth, drying, shearing, stitching, finishing operation of raising, and finally packaging for sale. The Insured installed fully automated, modernized and latest machineries. The Insured had multi - location factories for operation of the business. The Insured performed extremely well and there were an upward trend in the last years.
(b) United India Insurance Company Limited (the Insurer) is a public sector company and provides various types of insurance services. The Insured obtained Standard Fire and Special Perils Policy No. 201302/11/06/11/00000050, from the Insurer, on entire buildings above plinth level at locations C - 78, C - 79, C - 80 and C - 112, Focal Point Extension Jalandhar, for sum assured of Rs. 4 crores (Rs.one crore, for each building) for a period of 8.5.2006 to 7.5.2007. The Insured obtained another Standard Fire and Special Perils Policy No. 200500/11/05/11/00521, from the Insurer, on the stock of hosiery, lace, embroidery / thread factories at 15 locations, for sum assured of Rs. 6 crores, for a period of 11.1.2006 to 10.1.2007.
(c) Apart from aforesaid policies, the Insured obtained Standard Fire and Special Perils Policy No.20-21-11-80085-06, from Reliance General Insurance Company Limited, on stocks at various locations, for sum assured of Rs. 6 crores for a period of 5.5.2006 to 4.5.2007 and Standard Fire and Special Perils Policy No. 41112/11/05/3300000319, from National Insurance Company Limited, on stock at locations, for sum assured of Rs. 6 crores for a period of 8.9.2005 to 7.9.2006.
(d) Unfortunately fire broke out on 12.6.2006 at 4.10 hours, in the factory at C - 79, Focal Point Extension, Jalandhar. Piara Singh, Machine Operator, and four other workers were on duty. Piara Singh first observed fire in the stock kept on the trolley, below the electrical control panel of Drying Machine. Piara Singh and other workers tried to extinguish fire by throwing water but the fire spread to the stock in process kept in the shed and took devastating nature soon and had become beyond their control. Piara Singh immediately informed Shital Vij, Managing Director of the company on telephone and the nearest Fire Service Station, from where message was circulated to other Fire Service Stations at Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Phagwara and Hoshiyarpur. From various places about 20 fire tenders were deputed on the spot, which took about 7 hours in controlling and extinguishing the fire. The Insured also reported the incident of fire to local Police Station on 12.6.2006.
(e) The Insured informed the Insurer about the fire incident on 12.6.2006. On which, the Insurer appointed D.K. Taneja & Associates, New Delhi, for survey and assessment the loss. The surveyor inspected the Factory premises on 13.6.2006, 14.6.2006 and on subsequent dates. He took photographs and prepared inventories. He submitted Preliminary Survey Repor