`Insurer can't deny claim citing lack of post-mortem'





A consumer forum has held that the absence of a post-mortem report cannot be a ground for repudiation of an accidental death insurance claim in cases where the police are sure about the cause of death and there is no confusion.

On Wednesday , the forum directed New India Assurance to pay the widow of a 45-year-old man who died of snake bite in 2008 the insured amount of Rs 5 lakh, along with a compensation of Rs 1.05 lakh. Holding the company guilty of indulging in unfair trade practice, the forum said, "Depending upon the situation and circumstances and reports of the medical officer, the hospital as well as the police, the claim should have been sanctioned on humanitarian grounds. There is no proof to show that there was any mischief or mala fide intention of the complainant in demanding the claim."

The forum rejected the insurance company's defence that it was not in the domain of the police to conclude the cause of death and that the job was of medical doctors, and that despite the advice of doctors, the woman--Dombivli resi dent Usha Bhoir--had failed to allow the post-mortem.

"The police are also a government and responsible investigative authority . As they were sure about accidental death, they did not go for post-mortem. So, merely saying that a post-mortem was not done and hence claim is repudiated is unfair," the forum said.

The forum observed that Bhoir could not have insisted on a postmortem and the final authority in the matter was the police. It pointed out that the police had recorded the statements of witnesses, conducted a panchnama and finally on July 10, 2008, had submitted a summary report to the sub-divisional magistrate, stating that the death was accidental.

Bhoir's husband Ashok had taken membership of a luxury club in Prabhadevi in 2007. The club had a tie-up with the insurance company and as per rules insured its members. In her complaint to the Central Mumbai District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum in 2012, Bhoir said that on June 22, 2008, at 3pm, her husband had gone into the cattle shed on their premises, where he was bitten by a snake hidden in the grass. Ashok was taken to hospital, where at 9.15pm he suffered cardiorespiratory failure due to poisoning and died.





Weak monsoon may hit recovery India Inc Fears ‘Below Normal’ Rains Will Affect Demand, Sentiment

New Delhi: With the economic growth hovering around 5% and the job scenario remaining weak, a "below normal" monsoon will be the first challenge awaiting the new government that will take charge just before the rainy season sets in. The already-stretched finances of the Centre will only add to the pressure. 

    While economists warned that below normal rains do not necessarily mean a drought or significantly hit the growth rate, Corporate India is already talking about the monsoon further denting the already-battered sentiment and impacting sales at a time when it was sensing a reversal in fortunes. 
    Private agencies had warned of the monsoon being below normal and, on Tuesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast that rains will be below the average level. Coupled with that is the fear of the El Nino weather phenomenon impacting precipitation further. 
    Videocon Group chairman V N Dhoot said that a bad monsoon may impact demand, especially in rural areas that depend on the farm sector. "It's not good news at all. Even though the dependence on monsoon has gone down, it will affect sentiments and it will come at a time when we are a little optimistic about a turnaround," added Anil Dua, senior vice-president (marketing & sales), Hero MotoCorp, the country's largest two-wheeler maker. Rural areas account for 48% of the company's sales. 
    Pravin Shah, CEO of Mahindra & Mahindra's automotive business, said, "It doesn't have an immediate impact but it does impact sentiments." Hero's rival and former partner Honda isn't reworking its targets just yet, although Y S Guleria, the head of sales and marketing at HMSI, says that monsoon and economic growth are inseparable. 
    Economists are also not changing their forecasts just yet. "The government should be on alert, we should prepare ourselves to deal with the prospects of below normal rains but there is not need to panic," said Ashok Gulati, chair professor for agriculture at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). 
    There may, however, be some impact on inflation. While north-west India, which has better irrigation facilities, may not be affected significantly, Gulati said there may be some impact on the western region which grows oilseeds, cotton, sugarcane and onions. 
    With record food stocks, the government seems to be wellpositioned to deal with demand for grain. But a prolonged dry spell does impact milk production and may even hit prices of vegetables such as onions, which has been a political hot potato in recent years. 
    "It is early to assess the impact on growth, but it is a warning signal and there is a need to keep a watch on food inflation. It will be an important issue for the new government and it will have to take steps from day one," said A Prasanna, chief economist at ICICI Securities Primary Dealership. 
    But the impact on overall growth is not expected to be significant. "If the total rainfall is 95% of the average with even spread of space and time, then the impact will not be very significant on agriculture production," said D K Pant, chief economist and head (public finance) at India Ratings, while sticking to his forecast of 3% farm sector growth this year. 
    Dhoot cautioned that the government may have to increase spending in the rural areas to counter any negative fallout if the rainfall is highly deficient. Typically, in a raindeficient year, the government gets banks to restructure farm loans and spends more on job-generating schemes in areas where there is severe shortfall.

DARK CLOUDS OVER GROWTH?