Moneylife: Pune: Friday,
8 November 2024.
Information commissioner
(IC) Vinod Tiwari recently directed the central public information officer
(CPIO) of United India Insurance Company Ltd (UIC) to provide a photograph of a
vehicle over 12 years old, which is claimed to have been involved in an accident
and without corrosion, as this was the basis of rejection of an RTI applicant’s
request for such information.
While UIC was trying to argue that this case should go to the in-house consumer grievance cell, IC Tiwari rejected this and additionally instructed that any 12-year-old vehicle must be shown without any corrosion, but given without the vehicle's registration number being visible and any other details exempted from disclosure under the RTI Act.
RTI applicant Umesh MV, the registered owner of a two-wheeler insured with coverage from UIC, had submitted a claim following an accident on 2 October 2022, in which the vehicle sustained significant damage.
However, UIC declined the claim in December 2022 stating that the damages were assessed and were due to wear and tear as well as corrosion.
The RTI applicant sought the following information from UIC under the RTI Act:
Besides, the CPIO of UIC, Yashwant Rasikar also treated it as a grievance which he said should rightly go to the grievance cell of the company. He gave a written statement to CIC Tiwari stating that “It should be noted that the queries raised by Umesh MV appear to be of a grievance nature, as evident from the application. As a customer of United India Insurance Company Ltd since 2015, he is advised to use the Customer Grievance Redressal System for such matters before seeking recourse through the RTI Act, 2005. The Central Information Commission (CIC) has consistently remarked in its judgments that the RTI Act is not intended as a grievance redressal tool, and using it as such can impede the justice system.”
Quoting some orders of the CIC and the Supreme Court and high courts, he built up his argument to dismiss it as an invalid RTI and advised the RTI applicant to contact the senior divisional manager and customer care officer at the UIIC divisional office in Kasaragod.
RTI applicant MV, who filed a second appeal with the CIC which was heard on 29 October 2024, argued that all claims and complaints are usually settled only after mutual negotiations or with direct interaction with the complainant. However, no such procedure was followed.
He further stated that “If the surveyor's findings are final, why was an estimate for repair costs requested? Believing I would receive the claim, I spent a significant amount on repairs and am now facing severe financial strain. Who is accountable for this situation? I hold the company responsible and believe it should compensate me for these losses.”
UIC has been given four weeks to provide the photograph. This would decide the insurance claim for the RTI applicant.
While UIC was trying to argue that this case should go to the in-house consumer grievance cell, IC Tiwari rejected this and additionally instructed that any 12-year-old vehicle must be shown without any corrosion, but given without the vehicle's registration number being visible and any other details exempted from disclosure under the RTI Act.
RTI applicant Umesh MV, the registered owner of a two-wheeler insured with coverage from UIC, had submitted a claim following an accident on 2 October 2022, in which the vehicle sustained significant damage.
However, UIC declined the claim in December 2022 stating that the damages were assessed and were due to wear and tear as well as corrosion.
The RTI applicant sought the following information from UIC under the RTI Act:
- Corrosion is commonly found in vehicles over 10 years old. If my insurance claim was denied based solely on the surveyor's report and their findings are considered final, please provide me with a copy of the original survey report for my vehicle.
- Please provide a photograph of any vehicle over 12 years old that was involved in an accident and had a valid insurance claim, demonstrating no corrosion.
- Kindly provide a copy of the insurance company’s terms and conditions that qualify or disqualify a vehicle for an insurance claim.
Besides, the CPIO of UIC, Yashwant Rasikar also treated it as a grievance which he said should rightly go to the grievance cell of the company. He gave a written statement to CIC Tiwari stating that “It should be noted that the queries raised by Umesh MV appear to be of a grievance nature, as evident from the application. As a customer of United India Insurance Company Ltd since 2015, he is advised to use the Customer Grievance Redressal System for such matters before seeking recourse through the RTI Act, 2005. The Central Information Commission (CIC) has consistently remarked in its judgments that the RTI Act is not intended as a grievance redressal tool, and using it as such can impede the justice system.”
Quoting some orders of the CIC and the Supreme Court and high courts, he built up his argument to dismiss it as an invalid RTI and advised the RTI applicant to contact the senior divisional manager and customer care officer at the UIIC divisional office in Kasaragod.
RTI applicant MV, who filed a second appeal with the CIC which was heard on 29 October 2024, argued that all claims and complaints are usually settled only after mutual negotiations or with direct interaction with the complainant. However, no such procedure was followed.
He further stated that “If the surveyor's findings are final, why was an estimate for repair costs requested? Believing I would receive the claim, I spent a significant amount on repairs and am now facing severe financial strain. Who is accountable for this situation? I hold the company responsible and believe it should compensate me for these losses.”
UIC has been given four weeks to provide the photograph. This would decide the insurance claim for the RTI applicant.
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