September 29,2017:

Vehicle was parked at a Parking with Security.

Consumer forum has ruled against the Insurance Company that rejected a car theft claim on the grounds that the driver left the vehicle unlocked while visiting a washroom for a few minutes.

Forum enunciates that, "Merely because vehicle was not locked, it cannot be said that it was left unattended. In the complaint before us, vehicle was parked at parking place under the security. Insurance Company has wrongly repudiated the claim."

Forum has ordered Insurance Company to pay Rs 5.22 lakh, along with the compensation of Rs 40,000, to owner of the Skoda car stolen from a heavily secured and guarded Marine Lines building in 2012.

Complaint was submitted before Central Mumbai District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum in the year 2015 by owner of the car, Ms Banswara Syntex Limited, against the TATA AIG General Insurance Co Ltd.

When the driver returned from a trip to the washroom, he found that the car was not in the parking spot.

Complaint was lodged with the Police and on May 9, 2012 and RTO was informed.

Insurance Company was intimated and claim was submitted.

But the company repudiated claim through a letter on the grounds that the proper care was not taken, and vehicle was left unattended without locking it. Thus it was a breach of Policy Conditions.

Forum expounded that it was the well-settled law that Insurance Company could not avoid report submitted by the investigator without a proper reason.

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