Almost all credit cards these days come with an assurance that in case of accidental death of the card holder, the family would be eligible for a specified sum under an insurance cover. Flt Lt Amar Deep Bharadwaj had a similar cover under the Visa card that he got from ANZ Grindlays bank.

On August 18, 1994, Flt Lt Bharadwaj, who was employed with the Indian Air Force as a pilot, met a tragic end ? he died in an air crash. But the insurance company rejected the insurance claim on the ground that Clause 5 (c) of the group insurance policy specifically excluded payment of compensation in respect of death, injury or disablement of the insured person while engaged in aviation other than as a passenger in any duly licensed standard type of aircraft.

When Bharadwaj’s mother filed a complaint before the consumer court, the New India Assurance Company argued that (a) the benefit of the group insurance policy was available to Bharadwaj free of cost and therefore he was not a consumer under the Consumer Protection Act; (b) the contract of insurance was executed between the insurance company and the bank and there was no contract between the insurer and the consumer; (c) as per clause 5(c) of the policy, the risk was not covered as he was piloting the aircraft.

When the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission rejected all these arguments, the insurance company filed an appeal before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. In deciding the case, the apex consumer court referred to the ‘addendum’ sent by the bank to the customer. The ‘addendum’ gave all the details of the insurance policy, including the exclusion clauses, but made no mention of clause 5(c) which excluded aviation or ballooning. Observed the apex consumer court: the bank was fully aware of the profession that Bharadwaj was in and despite that knowledge the card was given without specifying the exclusion clause. The bank and the insurance company cannot now bring up the exclusion clause as an afterthought and deny the accident policy amount to the mother. (The New India Assurance company vs Smt Shakuntala Bharadwaj, first appeal no. 348 of 2001).

This order ensures that service providers in general, and insurance and credit card companies in particular, do not come up with conditions that were not part of the original deal or contract to defeat a claim of the consumer.