NCDRC orders Shriram General Insurance to pay full value on three lost trucks

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) on 6 November 2026 dismissed three revision petitions filed by Shriram General Insurance and upheld orders directing it to pay the full insured value of three commercial trucks. The insurer had rejected the owners' claims after the trucks were lost following their rental to another person in 2019.

What Happened

According to the order, two vehicle owners in Kabirdham, Chhattisgarh, rented out their insured trucks in May 2019. The person who hired them failed to pay and took the vehicles, which, according to the police investigation recorded in the order, were sold to third parties or destroyed. An FIR was lodged on 29 May 2019, and police filed a chargesheet against the hirer and six co-accused. These are allegations, not findings of guilt; the accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court, and due process continues.

The insurer rejected the claims on 18 October 2019, saying criminal breach of trust and cheating were not covered and that it was told 52 or 53 days late. The Chhattisgarh State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission awarded the full insured declared value (IDV, the value fixed in the policy) minus a Rs 1,500 deductible: Rs 25,32,148, Rs 10,18,346 and Rs 25,12,900, with 6% annual interest from 18 October 2019, Rs 25,000 compensation and Rs 3,000 costs in each case.

The NCDRC held that the loss counted as theft and a "malicious act", both covered by the policy, and that a claim cannot be rejected only for late notice to the insurer when the police were informed promptly. It also held that an insurer cannot rely on grounds not stated in its rejection letter, and found no error in the state commission's orders.

What It Means

For owners of insured vehicles, the order confirms that a vehicle taken away dishonestly by someone it was entrusted to can be treated as stolen under a policy covering theft, and that prompt police reporting matters more than the date the insurer is told. The order may be appealed. Policyholders with a rejected claim can file a consumer complaint through the National Consumer Helpline (1915) or e-Daakhil.

Source: Consumer commission order