#insurance fraud

The Kerala High Court refused pre-arrest bail to an insurance agent who forged policy certificates to fraudulently claim accident compensation, holding that deliberate, large-scale financial forgery undermines public trust in insurance systems and jeopardizes ongoing investigations. This ruling reinforces that pre-arrest bail is not a right but a safeguard reserved for exceptional cases, especially where the offence is institutionalized and evidence-dependent.

Madhya Pradesh High Court rules that insurers must prove policy forgery with original documents like premium receipts or signed proposal forms; failure to do so invites adverse inference, shifting liability to the insurer. The judgment reinforces evidentiary standards under the Indian Evidence Act for motor accident claims, impacting insurers' defense strategies in fraud allegations.

Rajasthan High Court rules that non-disclosure of a pre-existing illness does not automatically void a life insurance policy unless the illness is the proximate cause of death. The court upheld a partial claim of Rs. 2.5 lakh, emphasizing that insurers must prove a direct causal link between the non-disclosure and the death to deny benefits.

The Punjab & Haryana High Court ruled that active participation in a premeditated murder conspiracy-orchestrated to fake an accident for insurance fraud-justifies bail denial, even amid prolonged custody and trial delays. The ruling reinforces that conspiracy under Section 120-B IPC, when linked to grave offences like murder, outweighs procedural lapses in bail considerations.

Kerala High Court holds that non-disclosure of prior ultrasound scan for kidney stones in cancer policy application amounts to fraudulent suppression under Section 45 of Insurance Act, 1938.