A consumer commission in Mumbai has directed Axis Bank and the New India Assurance company to pay an insurance claim of Rs 30 lakh along with interest to a policeman who suffered injuries with permanent disabilities after an accident in 2017. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, South Mumbai, noted that as per the facts, the bank and the insurance company were in agreement for providing insurance cover to police personnel as per the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the bank and the Mumbai Police. The policeman’s insurance claim has been ‘arbitrarily rejected/repudiated’. It is based on ‘wrong interpretation’ and hence the order of repudiation is found to be unsustainable under the law,’ the commission said in its order. The policeman claimed that as per an MoU signed between the bank and the police department in 2015, when the personnel open an account in the bank, they would be given a Power Salute Debit cum ATM Card, with a personal accident insurance of Rs 10 lakh and air accident cover of Rs 25 lakh. The complainant met with an accident in October 2017 and said he was hospitalized for a long period of time. He suffered ‘huge bodily injuries with permanent disabilities’ which kept him away from work for almost one year, the complainant said. After recovering from the injuries, the complainant claimed insurance from the bank by submitting necessary documents in April 2019. The insurance company rejected the claim on the grounds of delayed submission of documents and that partial disability was not covered in the policy terms. The bank contended that the complainant had raised a ‘false claim’ and that partial disability is not covered in the scheme. The commission found that both the bank and the insurance company were in agreement for providing insurance cover to police personnel as per the MoU between the bank and the Mumbai Police. The commission concluded that the repudiation of the claim was arbitrary and based on wrong interpretation. It ordered the bank and the insurance company to pay the claim amount jointly and severally, along with an additional amount for compensation for mental agony and litigation costs.