Consumer Panel Orders HDFC Life To Pay ₹1.5 Crore Claim
The order was passed on April 24, 2026, by the commission headed by president Karanam Kishore Kumar in Complaint No. 154 of 2024.
KURNOOL: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company Limited to pay ₹1.5 crore to a complainant after finding fault with the insurer’s rejection of a life insurance claim.
The order was passed on April 24, 2026, by the commission headed by president Karanam Kishore Kumar in Complaint No. 154 of 2024.
The complainant, Korrapati Lohitha, had approached the commission after the insurer repudiated the claim under a policy taken by her deceased brother, A. Venkata Krishna Reddy. The policy carried a sum assured of ₹1.5 crore.
Venkata Krishna Reddy died on April 4, 2023, due to accidental drowning. Though the required documents were submitted, the insurance company rejected the claim on the ground that the policyholder had not disclosed details of an earlier policy.
After examining the FIR, post-mortem report and other records, the commission held that the death was accidental. It observed that the repudiation was based on technical grounds and unsupported assumptions, without credible evidence of suppression of material facts.
The commission also noted deficiencies in the proposal form and said there was no proof that the insured had deliberately concealed any information. It further observed that mere submission of another policy document, without establishing its validity or any claim under it, could not justify rejection of the claim.
Holding the insurer guilty of deficiency in service, the commission partly allowed the complaint and directed the company to pay ₹1.5 crore to the complainant. It also awarded ₹10,000 as compensation for mental agony and ₹5,000 towards costs.
The commission ordered that the amount be paid within 45 days, failing which it would carry interest at 6 per cent per annum from October 10, 2024, till realisation.
