In a significant consumer rights judgment, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (DCDRC) has directed SBI General Insurance to pay the full compensation of ₹1,08,275 to a policyholder whose house sustained substantial damage during a storm in 2021. The commission rejected the insurer’s attempt to slash the payout by over 70% on grounds that the damaged property was “old and dilapidated.”
The complainant, Gyan Prakash Saxena, a resident of Govindpuram, had taken two home insurance policies — worth ₹10 lakh and ₹9 lakh — tied to his home loan from the State Bank of India. On May 28, 2021, a severe storm uprooted several trees, including mulberry and mango, which fell onto Saxena’s house in Baghpat, causing significant structural damage, including cracked floors and broken walls.
When Saxena approached SBI General Insurance to file a claim, the insurer acknowledged policy coverage to the tune of ₹7.8 lakh, valid through November 2027. However, the company proposed a drastic 73.6% reduction in the assessed damage cost, offering only ₹28,585 from the total damage estimate of ₹1,08,275. The insurer justified the deduction by citing the age and condition of the property.
Saxena alleged before the forum that the surveyor appointed by SBI General, although authorized by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), had demanded a bribe to process the claim — a demand he refused, leading to what he claimed was retaliation in the form of reduced compensation.
While the commission did not find merit in the bribery allegation and upheld the surveyor’s neutrality, it ruled that the insurer could not retroactively penalize the policyholder for the age of the house. Commission president Praveen Kumar Jain and member Shailja Sachan noted that such factors should have been evaluated at the time the policy was issued.
The forum ordered SBI General’s Delhi and Mumbai branches to pay the full assessed damage of ₹1,08,275, along with ₹5,000 towards litigation expenses and compensation for mental agony, within 45 days.
