Insurance companies will deny claims if the vehicle is stolen or damaged due to the owner’s or driver’s negligence. This move makes it important for the insured to be alert.
What happens if your vehicle is insured but is stolen or damaged? You immediately run to your insurance company, but step with a caution from now on. Has it ever happened to you that you keep something and forget to remember it, something sort of instant memory loss? Like forgetting to carry your ID card, forgetting where did you kept the wallet, worst of all, forgetting to pick the key once you park your ride? I am sure there are hundreds of such instances we overcome everyday, but it’s time to change that negligent part of ours especially when it comes to claiming insurance for your stolen or damaged vehicle, which might have happened due to your negligence.
Here comes the bad news, Jamun Pandey was denied his insurance claim for his stolen truck which was left unattended in an unauthorised area by his driver Ram Nandan, worst part was that he left the truck unattended along with the keys. His claim was denied by the trial court on Thursday by additional district judge Kamini Lau stating that “The insured vehicle was stolen due to the negligence of the driver of the plaintiff. The plaintiff is guilty of breach of terms and conditions of the insurance policy. I, hereby, hold that the plaintiff is not entitled to any relief of recovery from the defendant as asked for in the plaint”. It’s unusual but we tend to lose our presence of mind even when it comes to taking care of our belongings.
The suit was filed by Jamun Pandey, claiming an amount of Rs. 6.2 lakhs from SBI General Insurance Company. The policy was valid from 14th December 2012 to 13th December 2013. Pandey stated that his truck went missing near Pratap Nagar Metro Station and according to the insurance policy he was entitled to get the claimed amount. Things took a toll when the company opposed stating the gross negligence that led to the theft, which the court agreed and pointed out several discrepancies like the below recorded statement by the court.
“The statement that one key had gone with the vehicle clearly establishes that Ram Nandan had left it in the vehicle, while leaving the truck unattended for at least one hour fifteen minutes as per his own admission. But from the record of the FIR, the time appears to be much longer since the information of the theft was given to police in writing at 8.30 AM on 25th October, 2013, in spite of the distance of the police station from the place of theft being merely a kilometre away”.
One can very much find us sailing in the same boat as Pandey, the order is blaring and clear which speaks for itself, it might come as disconcerting news but one’s presence of mind definitely pays off when it comes to their own belongings.
