LIC of India v. Insure Policy Plus Services Pvt. Ltd. and Ors. - (Supreme Court) (29 Dec 2015)

Lapsed insurance policies remain tradeable and assignable

MANU/SC/1491/2015

Insurance

The Supreme Court permitted transfer and assignment of lapsed insurance policies that came into effect prior to 2015. LIC Circulars that prohibited registration of such policies were illegal and void. Whereas the High Court its judgment had delved into insurance policies being “personal, moveable property of the policy holder” and “ life insurance [no longer] remained a measure of social security”, the Supreme Court dispensed with looking into the same. It concluded LIC could not change the terms of the policy itself, and legislative intent was unambiguous about the registration of lapsed policies.

Relevant : Grigsby v. Russell 222 US 149; Avinder Singh v. State of Punjab MANU/SC/0299/1978 Agricultural Market Committee v. Shalimar Chemical Works Ltd. MANU/SC/0644/1997 Section 38 of the Insurance Act, 1938 Act

Tags : INSURANCE POLICY LAPSE TRANSFER REGISTRATION