for the Insurance Company cannot stretched any
further in view of the clear cut finding by the
Apex Court in a decision in the case of United
India Insurance Company Limited v. Manubhai
Dharmasinhbhai Gajera and others, reported in
(2008) 10 SCC 404, wherein, it has been held that
“as per the terms of the prospectus and the
insurance policy in the present case what was
necessary for non-renewal was a pre-existing
disease when the cover was incepted for the first
time. Hence, only because the insured had
contracted or come to suffer a disease during the
currency of the insurance policy, the same would
not mean that the said disease shall be excluded
or that renewal could be denied on that ground.”
It has been further held that “if the insured had
made some claim in each year, the insurance
company should not refuse to renew insurance
policies only for that reason. In the same
judgment, it has been held that “Insurance
companies cannot either in their prospectus or in
the terms of the policy lay down any condition
which would be derogatory to the terms and
conditions approved by IRDA.”
12. This case can be viewed from other angle. The
disease acquired by the wife of the petitioner
was during the pendency of the Insurance Policy.
The respondents-Insurance Company renewed the
policy with loaded premium and with an assurance
that if the petitioner pays this loaded premium,
the exclusion clause will not be there in the
renewed policy. However, the respondents seem to
have backed out from their promise, as they
charged the loaded premium and kept the exclusion
clause in the renewal policy despite the fact
that the disease was acquired during the pendency
of the policy. We are living in a welfare State.
All these rules and policies are meant for the
welfare of the human beings. The authorities are
not expected to stick to technicalities and adopt
a wooden attitude while dealing with the human
beings. Once the respondent-Insurance Company has
insured a person for mediclaim, they cannot be
allowed to shift the burden on the insurer and
refuse the mediclaim at the time when person
suffers from a disease.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 4550 of 2006
NM BIJLANI, IAS (RETD)
V
NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO LTD & 2..
CORAM: MR.JUSTICE MOHINDER PAL
Date : 01/02/2017
Citation: AIR 2017 Guj 57
