A senior citizen spent more than two years pursuing an insurance claim after his car was badly damaged in a foggy night-time accident on December 31, 2020, only to have the insurer question the accident and the vehicle’s insured value. After New India Assurance rejected his claim, the Delhi State Consumer Commission has directed the insurer to pay Rs 6.92 lakh, including compensation for mental agony, inconvenience and litigation expenses.The Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission president Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal and member Bimla Kumari were the senior citizen’s appeal against New India Assurance Company Limited challenging a district consumer commission’s order that had directed the insurer to pay Rs 5.49 lakh towards his car insurance claim but had not addressed his remaining demands for parking charges, compensation for mental agony and inconvenience, and litigation expenses.“Having accepted the premium and issued the policy with a specified IDV (insured declared value), the insurer cannot discard the contractual value on the basis of enhancement unless such misrepresentation is established by cogent evidence,” the commission said October 8.The dispute arose after the man’s son was driving towards Salasar on December 31, 2020, taking the Bahadurgarh-Jhajjar road because other routes were reportedly blocked amid the farmers’ agitation. At around 11.30 pm, he stopped to clean the windscreen because of heavy fog and poor visibility. According to the complaint, an unidentified truck struck the parked car from behind, pushing it into a roadside culvert. The truck’s registration number could not be noted.Insurer questioned accident and insured valueThe car was insured with New India Assurance from December 19, 2020, to December 18, 2021, with an insured declared value (IDV) of Rs 5,49,450. The insurer appointed a surveyor on January 20, 2021, to assess the damage.The policyholder alleged that he submitted documents, answered queries and repeatedly sought updates, but the claim remained unresolved. The insurance company eventually rejected it, questioning the accident account and alleging that the car’s insured value had been artificially increased.The insurance company cited the reported absence of visible accident signs at the spot, a nearby hotel owner’s reported denial of knowledge of the accident and the absence of injuries despite the damage. It also questioned why the truck could not be identified and argued that the nearly 15-year-old vehicle’s market value was substantially lower than its insured value.Story continues below this adCommission says suspicion alone cannot establish fraudThe state commission found no evidence that the policyholder had deliberately made a false declaration to obtain an undue insurance benefit. It noted that the insurer had accepted the premium and issued the policy with the specified IDV without objecting to the declared value.If the insurance company believed the value was incorrect, it should have examined the issue when issuing or renewing the insurance policy, the commission said. It held that the insurer could not later reject the contractual value without cogent evidence of misrepresentation.The commission also found that the circumstances cited by the insurance company did not conclusively establish that the accident had not occurred. The absence of injuries, inability to identify the truck and questions about the accident scene were insufficient, by themselves, to prove fraud.It further noted that the claim had remained pending for a considerable period. The delayed appointment of an investigator and repeated requests for clarification without a decision within a reasonable time did not amount to satisfactory claim service.Story continues below this adThe District Consumer Commission had directed the insurer to pay Rs 5.49 lakh towards the insured amount in an order dated February 27, 2025. However, it had not decided the policyholder’s remaining claims for parking charges, mental agony, inconvenience and litigation expenses.Allowing the appeal, the state commission directed New India Assurance to pay Rs 5,49,450 towards the insured amount, Rs 18,000 in parking charges, Rs 50,000 for mental agony and harassment, Rs 50,000 for inconvenience and expenses arising from the unavailability of the car, and Rs 25,000 towards litigation costs.TakeawayIf an insurer accepts your premium and issues a policy with a specified insured value, it cannot later reject that value merely by alleging inflation or fraud. It must support the allegation with credible evidence.For consumer-related grievances, individuals may contact the consumer helpline in their respective states (Delhi: 1800-11-4000) or call the National Consumer Helpline at 1915 for assistance.Story continues below this adDon’t miss out on these stories:Insurer rejects claim over expired licence after fatal crash, widow wins Rs 10 lakh55-year-old man loses Rs 4.8 lakh to ‘online fraud’, wins Rs 5 lakh from Canara Bank‘Denied warranty’ after premium phone dies within weeks, Amritsar teen wins Rs 66,000