ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi described as arbitrary and oppressive the non-payment of a life insurance claim worth Rs1.7 million by the State Life Insurance Corporation of Pakistan (SLICP) to the claimant on frivolous ground.
The president, while rejecting the SLICP’s representation against the decision of the Wafaqi Mohtasib, directed the corporation to settle the matter and provide relief to the complainant in accordance with its policy, procedure, rules and regulations within 30 days of the orders.
He observed that the SLICP’s point of view that the policyholder did not declare that he was a patient of hypertension before availing the policy as untenable because the patient did not die because of hypertension but from cardiopulmonary arrest.
Moreover, he said, hypertension was a common disease and its patients had the probability to live for decades or longer than the people not having such diseases, therefore, concealment of such diseases could not be termed as done fraudulently.
While endorsing the claimant’s point of view, the president observed that according to the death certificate of Dow Medical College Civil Hospital Karachi, the deceased had died of cardiopulmonary arrest and not of hypertension at the age of 63.
He further observed that the SLICP had all the means available to it to discover the alleged pre-insurance ailment of the deceased through its authorized medical officer but it failed to undertake that simple exercise which was contrary to the relevant provision of the Contract Act.
“The act says that a contract is not voidable if the party whose consent was so caused had the means of discovering the truth with ordinary diligence,” he added.
As per details, the deceased Oscar Malik obtained a life insurance policy from the SLICP on 23.01.2020 for the sum assured of Rs 1,700,000. He died on 30.04.2020 and his complainant brother Terrence Malik applied for the death insurance claim.
The SLICP refused to pay the claim on the ground that the deceased policyholder had a pre-insurance ailment and was a patient of hypertension as per the medical record of his employer.
Feeling aggrieved, the complainant approached the Wafaqi Mohtasib who passed the order in favour of the complainant. The SLICP, then, filed a representation with the president, which was rejected.
