The Life Insurance Corporation has been ticked off by a district consumer forum for dithering on paying the insurance claim to a widow and ordered to pay her Rs 3 lakh as insurance policy claim.

The District Consumer Redressal Forum (Central) asked the LIC to pay the insurance claim to West Delhi resident Sunita, while also holding it guilty of rendering "deficient service" for not making the payment promptly on the alleged ground that the policy had lapsed due to non-payment of its quarterly premium in February 2010.

The consumer forum, presided by President B B Chaudhary, pointed out to the LIC that though the woman had staked the claim six months after her husband's death sometime after November 2009, his insurance policy had not lapsed as the last quarterly payment had been made in November 2009 and the next one was due only in February 2010.

"The complainant informed the LIC about the death of the insured (her husband) after six months of the death and yet after receipt of information of the death of the insured and ...receiving of the quarterly payment in November 2009, the claim could not have been repudiated by holding that the policy was lying in lapsed condition", said Chaudhary.


The panel also asked the LIC to pay the woman a compensation of Rs 15,000, besides a litigation cost of Rs 2,000.
The LIC had refused the claim saying the policy had lapsed due to non-payment of a quarterly premium due in February 2010.

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