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Can't deny claim if driver is not at fault

The district consumer court has ruled that an insurance company cannot repudiate claim for damages if the driver of the insured vehicle has, in any way, not contributed to the accident involving the vehicle.
The consumer court imposed a cost of Rs 5,000 on New India Assurance Company and directed it to reimburse a city-based lawyer Rs 40,897 as car repair charges after her vehicle was involved in an accident on Lal Bahadur Shastri road on March 7, 2013.
A speeding tempo had dashed against the car, resulting in the driver momentarily losing control over the steering wheel and crashing into a road divider. Manasi Joshi, the complainant, had filed a Rs40,897 claim for damages suffered by her car.
The insurance company rejected Joshi's claim on May 5, 2013, arguing that the car was being driven by her husband who did not posses a valid driver's license. Later, she filed a consumer complaint seeking the court's directions to the insurance company for reimbursement of her insurance claim amount with interest at 9% per annum and Rs10,000 towards cost and compensation for physical and mental agony.
Joshi contended that she was driving the car, not her husband, and she held a valid driving license at the time of the accident. She argued that even if it was to be assumed that her husband was driving the car, the same was not a sufficient ground for the insurer to reject her claim.

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