A Nagpur consumer commission has ordered SBI to pay Rs 5 lakh to a
widow despite a six-year delay in filing the insurance claim, saying
"mental shock" following a spouse's sudden death is natural and it
takes time to recover from the grief.
A bank cannot use the 90-day claim window as a shield when it fails to inform customers of their rights, said a verdict delivered last month by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (Additional DCF) in Maharashtra's Nagpur.
Labelling its refusal as a "deficiency in service and unjust," the commission ordered the State Bank of India (SBI) to pay the Rs 5 lakh insurance amount with six per cent annual interest from the date the complaint was filed (September 5, 2019).
The commission emphasised that if a bank claims insurance protection is not applicable to a particular card, it must clearly provide the conditions and supporting documentation. In this case, since other cardholders received insurance coverage without any fees, treating customers differently under similar circumstances was deemed unfair and amounted to a "deficiency in service", it said.
The bank was also ordered to pay Rs 10,000 for mental agony and litigation costs.
As per the complainant, her husband had an account with the bank's Tri Junction Cantonment area in Nagpur. She stated that insurance protection up to Rs 5 lakh was being provided to the relevant debit cardholders of the bank. -- PTI
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