Kochi Ombudsman Centre
Complaint No.IO/KCH/GI/11-003-218/2009-10
C.M.Abdul Razaque
Vs
National Insurance Co.Ltd.
The complaint under Rule 12[1][b] read with Rule 13 of RPG Rules 1998 is against partial repudiation of claim under fire policy. The complainant is running a factory and he had taken fire policy and boiler policy from National Insurance Co.Ltd. On 13.03.2008, an accidental fire occurred in which the boiler and factory was burnt out. The insurer settled the claim under boiler insurance policy to the satisfaction of the insured. The claim under fire policy was repudiated on the ground that the heated oil gushed out of the boiler through the cracks of gauge glass and caught fire spontaneously. Policy conditions exclude destruction or damage caused to the insured property while undergoing the heating or drying process.
The claim was repudiated on the basis of a survey report that oil, which is at a high temperature of 300 degree C gushed out of the gauge glass and on exposure to air, it caught fire. As the oil caught fire and got destroyed by its undergoing heating process and not due to extraneous origin of fire, the claim is not admissible. In the survey report, 2 possibilities are explained for the reason for fire. One is due to exposure of heated oil at high pressure to the atmospheric air. Another possible reason is fire might have caught the burning waste and grate which the operators could not remove from the site at the time of accident.
The survey report itself clearly states that the possibility of catching fire on exposure to atmospheric air is very remote. It is more probable that the fire might have caught from the burning grate and waste which was not removed. Also no authority was stated by the insurer to show that the heated gas will catch fire on exposure to air. It is to be noted that if there is any doubt regarding the cause of the accident, the advantage of doubt must go to the insured. Hence it is to be taken that fire broke out from an outside source and hence will not come under exclusion clause. An award is, therefore, passed directing the insurer to pay the balance amount of Rs.1,84,500/- with interest @ 8% p.a. and a cost of Rs.2,500/-.
