‘Death due to mosquito bite an accident’

NEW DELHI: In a ruling that will benefit many insurance holders, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has held that death due to mosquito bite causing malaria is an accident.

“It is difficult for us to accept that the death due to a mosquito bite would not be a death due to an accident,” Justice V K Jain said.

“It can hardly be disputed that a mosquito bite is something which no one expects and happens all of a sudden.

“Aspertheinformationavailable onthewebsiteof theinsurancecompany,anaccidentmayincludeevents likesnakebite,frostbiteanddogbite. Hence it would be very difficult to accept the contention that malaria duetomosquitobiteisadiseaseand not an accident,” the commission said.

Theordercameonaclaimfiledby MousamiBhattacharjeewhosehusband,Debasish,diedinJanuary2012.

Hehadtakenahousingloanfrom the Bank of Baroda and availed of an insurance policy of the National Insurance Company. The sum insured was payable in the event of his death.

When Mousami approached the insurer to enable them to liquidate the housing loan, the claim was rejected.

She then moved the district consumer forum in West Bengal in February 2014.

Theinsurersubmittedbeforethe forum that Debashish had died due to a mosquito bite and not due to an accident.

Theforumhadpassedanorderin Mousami’s favour following which theinsurancecompanyapproached the West Bengal Consumer Commission, but the appeal was dismissed in February.

Later,theinsurancecompanyhad moved the National Commission.

PTI