INDIAN INSURER TOLD TO PAY INR500,000 TO MOTHER OF DEAD CHILD

The National Consumer Commission of India (NCCI) has ordered New India Assurance to pay INR500,000 ($10,700) plus 9% interest a year since 1999 to the mother of Rasheed Mohammed, a non-resident Indian (NRI) who died in a jet-ski accident off the coast of Bahrain. The Kerala State Commission had previously dismissed the mother's claim on the grounds that Rasheed's death was caused by an event specifically excluded from the policy, citing "skiing" as an excluded event. The NCCI found that the skiing referred to in the policy applied to snow, and that the riding of a jet-ski could not be described as skiing just because it was called a jet-ski. The Commission also stated that "it is a settled legal doctrine that in case of ambiguity in terms of an insurance policy, the terms are to be construed unfavourably to the insurer". The policy had been framed under the Pravasi Suraksha Social Welfare Scheme by New India Assurance and the Kerala State government, specifically for NRIs.