In the case ‘National Insurance Co. Ltd. v/s Mosumi Bhattacharjee (RP No. 120/2016),’ the court held ‘death of policyholder due to Malaria after mosquito bite is an accidental death and hence Insurance Company is liable to pay the sum assured.’
The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) recently held that a malaria death caused by mosquito bite is an accident, and directed the insurer to honour its policy to a widow. (The same will be applicable to dengue deaths also). As per Justice V K Jain, presiding member of NCDRC: "An accident is something that happens unexpectedly and is not planned." and "It can hardly be disputed that a mosquito bite is something which no one expects and which happens all of a sudden without any act of omission on part of the victim."
The claim was filed by Mousumi Bhattacharjee, who lost her husband Debashish in November 2012 to malaria in Mozambique where he worked in a tea factory. The husband had availed of a policy "Bank of Baroda Home Loan Suraksha Bima" to cover death by accidents. He paid a one-time premium for the sum insured, Rs 13.15 lakh, to be paid in case of "death due to accident".
