A widow and her son, Santosh and Sandeepan Sudhersan Sharma, have won a case against Niva Bupa Health Insurance and Karur Vysya Bank in the Chennai North District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. The commission ordered the companies to pay the family a compensation of Rs 51,00,000 and additional 9% interest on it, along with Rs 1,05,000 in compensation for deficiency in service, mental agony, pain, and suffering, and Rs 5,000 in litigation costs.
The case arose when Sudhershan Pohloram Sharma, Sandeepan’s father, took a housing loan of Rs 50,47,000 from Karur Vysya Bank in 2021. The bank required him to purchase a health insurance policy from Niva Bupa, which he did, paying a premium of Rs 2,99,956. When Sudhershan died in 2022 due to acute coronary syndrome, his wife Santosh and son Sandeepan tried to claim the insurance policy, but Niva Bupa denied their claim, citing that the cause of death did not fall under the critical illness benefits.
However, the commission found that Sudhershan’s death was due to myocardial infarction, which is one of the critical illnesses covered under the scheme. The commission held both Niva Bupa and Karur Vysya Bank liable for deficiency in service and directed them to pay the complainants the total amount of Rs 51,00,000 with 9% interest per annum from the date of death until the date of payment. The commission also ordered the companies to pay Rs 1,05,000 in compensation and Rs 5,000 in litigation costs within two months, failing which the complainants would be entitled to get the amount with 9% interest per annum from the date of the order until the date of realization.