LAHORE: An insurance company has denied insurance claim after the policy holder was compensated by the shipping company against the loss incurred against his shipment, said sources.
According to details, a manufacturer of PC Strands Wires imported lead ingots and approached the insurance company to secure the consignment under Marine Insurance Coverage.
The Marine Insurance policy, after completing all the formalities, was issued and the company insured the said consignment under the Marine Policy.
When the consignment reached at the port, the Custom department after assessing the duties and taxes handed over the consignment to the importer, but on suspicion, the importer contacted the insurance company with a request for appointment of their surveyor to inspect the container at the port.
Accordingly, a Joint Survey Team was constituted to conduct a joint inspection. During the joint inspection, seal of the container was opened in presence of all the members and found that the container was totally empty.
A joint survey report was issued by the joint survey team. After issuing the survey report, the surveyors started demanding relevant documents which as per the record were not provided and the correspondence in this regard ensured remained continue for a long time. During this period, the shipping company paid the loss to the importer.
In the meanwhile, the importer had also filed a complaint before the Federal Insurance Ombudsman, Regional Office, Lahore for redressal of his grievances but the same was dismissed, holding that the loss of the importer has already been compensated by the shipping company in total, therefore, the importer is not entitled for the double benefits, which was challenged by the importer.
However, the insurance company maintained that the importer has already been compensated by the shipping company of the loss occurred, therefore, the importer under the principle of indemnity in the insurance matters is not entitled to take double benefits of the insurance policy.
Also, it is settled principle in the insurance matters that where there is no loss there is no compensation. Even otherwise, Marine Insurance contract is always a contract of indemnity and the indemnity alone, the purpose of the policy is to return the policy holder to the same position as he was prior to the loss.
In response thereof, the importer stressed that payment by the shipping company cannot be constituted to be waiver of his claim, as no exclusion clause in this regard is available in the entire policy or in the Insurance Laws of Pakistan.
However, the relevant appellate forum did not agree with the importer and decided in favor of the insurance company.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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