Page 42 - Insurance Times December 2018

of giving such discharge without the concurrence As per the already circulated & implied "Insurance
of the others or until the disability has ceased. Ombudsman Rules, 2017" - Insurance Ombudsman has
Explanation I:-this section applies to a discharge given the authority to decide the wording of the policy and
from every kind of liability, including a liability in whether the policy term is a condition precedent or a
respect of any immovable property. condition, here in such cases only Insurance Ombudsman
may be allowed to decide or determine how a claim will be
Explanation II:- for the purposes of this section, the
Manager of a Hindu undivided family governed by treated if it is made outside of the time limit.
the Mitakshara law shall be deemed to be capable
of giving a discharge without the concurrence of Additionally, the IRDAI through its Circulars dated 20
the other members of the family only if he is in September 2011, 28 October 2016 and 28 June 2017, has
management of the joint family property. mandated that insurers should not deny the claims on a
mechanical basis citing the delay in notification.
(7) Special exceptions: - nothing in earlier sections
applies to suits to enforce rights of pre-emption,
However, the courts in India do not seem to have developed
or shall be deemed to extend, for more than three
years from the cessation of the disability or the a unified approach with respect to the consequences of
death of the person affected thereby, the period delays in notification. The Supreme Court bench in Om
Prakash vs. Reliance General Insurance and Anr (Civil Appeal
of limitation for any suit or application.
No 15611 of 2017, decided on 4 October 2017) held that
(8) Continuous running of time: - Where once time has the delay in informing the insurance company would not
begun to run, no subsequent disability or inability
debar the insured from getting the insurance claim.
to institute a suit or make an application stops it:
Provided that, where letters of administration to This view goes against the previous judgement of
the estate of a creditor have been granted to his
another two Judge bench of the Supreme Court in Oriental
debtor, the running of the period of limitation for
Insurance Co Ltd vs. Parvesh Chander Chadha (Civil Appeal
a suit to recover the debt shall be suspended while
the administration continues. No 6739 of 2010, decided on 17 August 2010) where the
verdict took the view that the claim deserved to be
Obviously the dire need of the current era in India for any repudiated because of a delay in informing the insurance
insured - as the mandatory market practice: It is thus very company.
much evident that this Law of Limitation in our current
Indian Insurance market needs to be properly understood Taking note of these conflicting views, recently the Supreme
by each and all the insured always while availing the Court Judge, in its order dated 9 January 2018 passed in
coverage under various insurance policies under the Gurshinder Singh vs. Sriram General Insurance Co Ltd (SLP
different lines of available insurance businesses like, Fire, No 24370/2015), has referred this issue to a three Judges'
Motor, Health, Marine - whatever you think of taking from bench and now being in their active consideration.
any insurance company for your insurance requirements -
as it is the main key to win over your insurers in all your References:
Insurance related claims being reactive always being within
Different contemporary discussions & information as
the requisite time period.
collected & collated from various text materials / online
Final issue comes here - "Is there a time limit outside of
which the insured is barred from making a claim in this Ans. of November'18 Insurance Quiz contest
current Indian insurance market?"
1. Bajaj General Insurance
It is sure and certain that the claims and circumstances of 2. Apollo Munich Health Insurance
claims must be invariably notified by the insured to the 3. 1100 Crore
respective insurers within the time period specified in the 4. 1/11/2018
insurance policy. This could be a specified number of days, 5. M G Diwan
6. Risk Management Association of India
as soon as practicable, within the policy period or the
extended reporting period specified in the insurance policy. 7. $16 trillion

42 The Insurance Times, December 2018