In a landmark rul ing, the Civil Judge Senior Division at Merces, Judge Sarika N Fal Dessai, has di rected a private insurance company to pay a French couple of Goan origin a to tal of Rs 20 lakh, along with six per cent interest per an num on each portion, citing misrepresentation and un fair trade practices. The couple, Agostin ho Gracias and Conceicao Marques Gracias, had in vested Rs 50,000 in 2006 after being assured by a bank manager that the pol icy “was like a fixed deposit and that after a period of years, the amount would double.” Acting on these as surances, they purchased the policy on September 29, 2006. However, in 2010, the couple was informed that their policy had lapsed. Officials of the insur ance company allegedly assured them that they would receive the amount and persuaded them to invest Rs 10 lakh in a new policy, promising it would double in five years. The couple hand ed over the cheque and signed blank forms at their Siridao residence, trusting the company. The reality, they dis covered later, was starkly different. The terms re quired Rs 10 lakh annual premiums for 15 years, and the contract was sent to a relative in Agassaim without their knowledge. By May 2012, the couple found that Rs 20 lakh de posited had not only failed to earn interest but had de creased to Rs 11,80,349 — an effective loss of almost Rs 9 lakh.
“The couple realised that there was something fishy in the activities of the insurance company and decided not to pay the third installment of Rs 10 lakh on account of un fair trade practice,” the court noted. Despite a notice dated July 3, 2012, demanding refund with interest, the company failed to comply. The insurance company argued that the plaintiffs had signed the proposal forms and received the policy docu ments, but the court highlighted the lapse on the part of company officers in sending communications to Goa de spite knowing the plaintiffs were residents of France. Adv C D’Souza represented the plaintiffs, while Adv V Toroskar appeared for the insurance company. Judge Dessai ordered Rs 10 lakh with six per cent inter est from April 21, 2010, and an additional Rs 10 lakh with six per cent interest from June 15, 2011, to be paid “until actual payment,” delivering a decisive blow against decep tive practices in the insurance sector.
