HDFC SLI was pulled up by the Hyderabad consumer forum

HDFC Standard Life Insurance was pulled up by the Hyderabad consumer forum on a complaint by Nizamabad resident Asha Agarwal that she was not paid the policy amount after her husband’s death.

Ms Agarwal stated that her husband, Harinath Agarwal, had taken a Rs 5-lakh HDFC Endowment Supreme Suvidha policy. The policy was issued on January 27, 2010, and her husband died on January 2011 due to a respiratory arrest in Maharashtra.HDFC Life Insurance repudiated the claim stating that the information on neuromuscular disease and prostate enlargement, of which he had died, was withheld. It contended that Harinath Agarwal had failed to furnish genuine information about his medical history and stated that he was a chronic patient and was not maintaining good health for two years prior to taking the police.

It said he had misled the company with false and inaccurate answers. It said that the patient was undergoing treatment in a private hospital and was asked to consult a neurologist. The forum noted that mild prostate enlargement was quite common in aged persons, and the short medical questionnaire of HDFC Life Insurance was not sufficient for disclosure of all types of ailments.There was no medical health history record of the policy holder prior to the date of filing the proposed form and he  had not undergone any treatment for neuromuscular disease.

The forum stated that policy amount cannot be withheld from rightful nominees by claiming suppression of information if the medical forms are not adequate to address all ailments. Moreover the age of the patient should be taken into consideration for understanding the cause of death. The forum ruled in favour of Ms Agarwal and asked HDFC Life Insurance to pay Rs 4,99,990 with 9 per cent interest per annum and Rs 1,000 towards costs.