Insurance companies are liable for assessed claims if they fail to prove non-liability due to property description errors.

1. The complainants have filed the instant complaint seeking directions to the respondents / opposite parties to pay a sum of Rs.30.00 lacs as the insured amount, Rs.5.00 lacs on account of mental and physical harassment and Rs.1.00 lac as litigation charges along with interest @ 18% per annum from the date of fire incident, till the date of payment.

2. Brief facts stated are that complainants availed house loan from the opposite party No. 2 (Punjab National Bank) for construction of a building at Village Parganoo, Tehsil Bhuntar, District Kullu vide loan account No. 027400NC00000710, 027400NC00000941 and 0274009900000335. In order to cover the risk, the opposite party No. 2 (Punjab National Bank) obtained Insurance Policy No. 263202/11/2018/1134, Annexure C - 14 from the opposite party No. 1 / Oriental Insurance Company in the name of the complainants. The proposal form was filled by the opposite party No. 2 (Punjab National Bank) itself and relevant documents were also provided to respondent No. 1 / Insurance Company by opposite party No. 2 (Bank).
On 14.2.2018, due to an electrical short circuit, entire first and second storeys of the building in village Parganoo, Tehsil Bhuntar, District Kullu was gutted into fire. Fire brigade assistances were taken. A Rapat in this behalf was lodged in Police Station Bhuntar vide GD entry dated 14.2.2018. The information pertaining to the fire incident was given to the opposite party No. 2 (Bank) on the very next day. The claim was lodged with the Insurance Company, i.e. opposite party No. 1. However, the respondent No. 1 / Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. repudiated the claim of the complainants on the ground that no insurance policy exists in favour of the complainants pertaining to the building in which first and second storeys were destroyed in the fire incident and the location of the insured building is in Village Thuari Garsa, which is more than 20 Km. away from Bhuntar Airport, where the fire incident taken place. The opposite party No. 1 (Insurance Company) as well as the opposite party No. 2 (Bank) did not supply the copy of Insurance policy to the complainants. After repudiation of claim by the Insurance Company, the complainants issued legal notice dated 26.10.2018 to Insurance Company. However, the Insurance Company has given a vague reply resulting into filing of the present complaint. There is deficiency in service on the part of opposite parties.

3. The complaint was contested by the opposite parties by filing separate replies.

4. The opposite party No. 1 (Insurance company) in its reply has contended that on receipt of intimation about the occurrence, the opposite party / Insurance Company had appointed an independent surveyor to assess the loss and damage occurred to the building. The surveyor has visited the spot and had also taken the photographs of the building. The surveyor assessed the loss at Rs.2,32,759 as net loss. However, the claim of complainants was rejected by the opposite party No. 1 / Insurance Company on the ground that the complainants had taken the policy for their residential house situated at Village Thuari, PO Garsa, Tehsil Bhunter, District Kullu. The building which was damaged in the fire incident is situated at NH 21, near Airport Gate Bhunter, Kullu. The said building was not insured by the opposite party No. 1 and as such, the claim of the complainants was rightly repudiated. Therefore, the Insurance Company is not liable to indemnify the complainants. The insurance policy was sent to the Bank as well as to the complainants. The complainants as well as the Bank never pointed out the wrong description of the property in the insurance policy. The surveyor has visited the spot and assessed the loss to the tune