Kurnool Consumer Commission Directs HDFC ERGO To Pay ₹1 Crore Claim
Kurnool Consumer Commission directed HDFC ERGO to pay a ₹1 crore accidental death claim with interest and compensation to the nominee.
The Kurnool District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company Limited to pay a ₹1 crore accidental death insurance claim to the nominee of a policyholder who died in a road accident.
The commission also ordered the insurer to pay 9 per cent annual interest on the claim amount, besides ₹25,000 towards mental agony and ₹10,000 towards litigation expenses.
The order was passed in Consumer Complaint No. 173/2025 by a bench comprising commission president Karanam Kishore Kumar and members N. Narayana Reddy and S. Nazeema Kausar.
According to the case, Gandla Mulaiah had taken a Koti Suraksha insurance policy with a sum assured of ₹1 crore. He died in a road accident on July 28, 2025. His nominee, Gandla Prameela, subsequently filed a claim seeking the accidental death benefit.
The insurer repudiated the claim, alleging that Mulaiah had concealed or overstated his income details while taking the policy.
The commission examined the FIR, post-mortem report, inquest report, charge sheet, death certificate and other records and observed that the documents established that Mulaiah had died in a road accident while the policy was valid.
The insurer failed to produce credible evidence to establish that Mulaiah had deliberately furnished false income details or that the alleged discrepancy was material to the underwriting process, the commission said.
It further observed that a mere investigation report or discrepancy in income particulars could not, by itself, establish fraud or deliberate suppression of material facts. To repudiate a substantial claim on such grounds, the insurer must establish with strong evidence that the information was false and material to the policy decision.
The bench also referred to the principles laid down by the Supreme Court in Manmohan Nanda vs United India Assurance Company Limited.
The commission held that the insurer’s repudiation of the claim on October 23, 2025, was unjustified and amounted to deficiency in service. It directed HDFC ERGO to pay the claim with interest, along with the compensation and litigation costs.
