In a landmark decision, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (Additional DCF) in Nagpur has ordered the State Bank of India (SBI) to pay ₹5 lakh to a widow. The ruling came despite a six-year delay in filing the insurance claim, with the commission acknowledging that “mental shock is natural” following a spouse’s death.
Commission Sides with Widow on Claim Delay
The case involves a woman whose husband, an account holder at SBI’s Tri Junction Cantonment branch in Nagpur, tragically died in a road accident in September 2013. The woman informed the commission that she suffered profound mental shock and grief, requiring considerable time to recover before she could address financial matters.
She only became aware of an insurance scheme linked to her husband’s debit card much later and approached SBI on March 26, 2019, to claim the benefit. Despite submitting the necessary documents, the bank allegedly failed to process her claim, leading her to seek redress from the consumer commission.
SBI's Defense Rejected
SBI argued that the claim was “false and baseless,” asserting that the deceased held a ‘MasterCard Classic’ ATM/debit card, which they claimed was not covered under any insurance scheme. The bank also highlighted that no claim was filed within the mandatory 90-day period typically required for such benefits.
However, the commission firmly rejected SBI’s arguments. It stated that it was “natural for the complainant to suffer a mental shock and take some time to recover from that situation” after her husband’s sudden demise. The panel found no clear documentary evidence from the bank to prove that the specific card type was excluded from insurance protection, especially since other debit cardholders received similar coverage without additional charges.
Bank Ordered to Pay Compensation and Costs
The Nagpur consumer commission described the bank’s refusal to settle the claim as “unjust and a deficiency in service.” In its order, passed last month, the commission directed SBI to:
- Pay the ₹5 lakh insurance amount with six per cent annual interest, calculated from September 5, 2019, the date the complaint was filed.
- Compensate the widow with an additional ₹10,000 towards mental agony and litigation costs.
The commission emphasized that had the bank properly informed the deceased or his family about the insurance benefit linked to the debit card, the situation could have been avoided. It concluded that rejecting the claim solely based on the 90-day filing period was unacceptable under the circumstances.