SBI General Insurance asked to pay Rs. 40K to Vizag man for refusing snake bite death claim

Visakhapatnam: Coming to the aid of a man who had been making the round of an insurance office for months seeking settlement following the death of his wife who died of a snake bite, the district consumer disputes redressal commission-I, Visakhapatnam, has directed SBI General Insurance to pay Rs. 10 lakh and Rs. 40,000 as compensation. Karri Tata Rao, a resident of Venkatapuram village under Yelamanchili mandal in Visakhapatnam district (currently Anakapalle district), had moved against the insurance company after it failed to settle the claim.

Mr. Rao's wife Karri Satyavathi had availed of a personal accident claim policy from the insurance company for a sum of Rs.10 lakhs. On the night of 25 April 2017, she went to a room in their house to switch off the light when she was bitten by a snake. She was taken to Government Hospital at Yelamanchili and later to NTR Hospital at Anakapalle. Finally, she was shifted to KGH in Vizag city where she lost her final breath on 26 April 2017.

The police registered a case under section 174 of the CrPC. Mr. Rao submitted all the documents (case diary, FIR, inquest report, doctor's opinion regarding cause of death, post-mortem report, and death certificate) to the insurance company to claim the insurance amount.

The insurance company, however, repudiated the claim in October 2018 stating that the exact cause of the death is not established and the photograph of the insured's snakebite injury submitted for the claim is a forged document. It said that since the documents did not confirm the exact cause of death of the insured, the claim was repudiated. The company submitted to the commission that the chemical analysis report is the most authentic document issued by the Andhra Pradesh government. The forensic science and laboratory report stated that "No Chemical Poisonous substance is found" in comprehensive seven specimens.

Owing to documentary evidence, the commission observed the deficiency of service on the part of the insurance company which failed to prove that the death of the woman was not due to a snake bite. The medical reports didn't state clearly the denial of snake bite. The commission directed the insurance company to pay Rs. 10 lakh to Mr. Rao with an interest of 6% from the date of death and also directed it to pay Rs. 40,000 as compensation and Rs. 3,000 towards litigation costs.