MATBER SINGH Vs. ORIENTAL INSURANCE CO. LTD.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Late Sh. Narendra Singh, son of the complainant was employed by a company namely Angelique International Limited and sent to the Republic of Sudan, to work on a construction project. The employer of the deceased had obtained an Overseas Medi-claim Business and Holiday policy from the opposite party, Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. for the period from 07.02.2006 to 06.06.2006. The aforesaid policy covered treatment for illness, treatment for accident, personal accident, loss of checked in baggage, delay in checked in baggage over 12 hours, loss of transport and personal liability. The maximum liability under the said policy was limited to $2,50,000. The liability in respect of personal accident was further limited to $25,000, without any deduction. It was also stipulated in the policy that it covered the air transport expenses incurred in repatriation of mortal remains and emergency medical evacuation of the deceased person from the place of visit to India, by economy class.

(2.) Section 'B' of the Insurance Policy reads as under:-

(3.) Therefore, the only question which arises for our consideration in this complaint is as to whether the death of deceased Narendra Singh took place on account of any bodily injury resulting solely and directly from accident caused by external, violent and visible means or not? The contention of the learned counsel for the Insurance Company is that there is no violence involved in the death caused by drowning in a river without being pushed by anyone and therefore, the benefit of the insurance cover is not available to the complainant. He further submits that if a person standing on riverside all of a sudden loses his balance or otherwise slips inside the river, it cannot be said that his death was caused by way of some violent means. The learned counsel for the complainant on the other hand has drawn our attention to the information available on the website of the Insurance Company under heading Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and has also relied upon the decision of this Commission in Revision Petition No. 973 of 2007, Rita Devi @ Rita Gupta vs. National Insurance Co. Ltd. & Ors., decided on 24.10.2007 and the decision dated 29.04.2008 in Original Petition No. 173 of 2000, Mrs. Padma Ramanathan vs. National Insurance Co. Ltd. He has also placed reliance upon the Law Relating to Accident insurance, by A. W. Baker Welford, (Second Edition), published in the year 1932.