Probe into life policies of dead woman

A Garda investigation is under way in relation to life insurance policies worth €2.2m taken out on a woman who died in a tragic drowning accident in India last year, the Commercial Court has heard.

Two insurance companies are refusing to pay out €1m on policies the widower of the woman is claiming because of the garda investigation into alleged fraud when the policies were taken out and because of the likelihood of the reactivation of the Indian police investigation into her death.

Madhava Reddy Gogireddy, a manufacturing operator from Carpenterstown Rd, Castleknock, Dublin, is suing Friends First Assurance Company and Irish Life Assurance, with which he had policies for his wife, Indira Suram. Each policy was for €500,000. She died following a drowning accident while swimming at the Royal Rivea Resort, Cyberabad, India, on May 14, 2014.

Both companies claim the two policies, along with two others for €1.2m with two other insurers, were taken out by Mr Reddy Gogireddy over a relatively short period of time between October and December 2006. They also claim he did not disclose the fact that he had policies with other companies.

Mr Reddy Gogireddy, a father of two, has also submitted claims under the two other policies which are with New Ireland Assurance and Aviva Life and Pensions, worth €700,000 and €500,000 respectively.

In an affidavit, he says he understands all four insurance companies engaged a representative to travel to India to further investigate the circumstances of his wife’s death.

He brought legal proceedings against Friends First and Irish Life and yesterday sought to have them entered into the High Court’s fast-track Commercial Court list.

However, Mr Justice Brian McGovern refused to admit the cases following objections from lawyers on behalf of the two insurers.

In an affidavit, Irish Life technical claims manager Jimmy Disney said the claims investigator who travelled to India to inquire into the death spoke with the local investigating policeman who told him he had been the only officer on duty at the time of the drowning incident. The officer accepted the investigation into the incident had been minimal, Mr Disney said.

A senior officer at the local police station said he believed the matter should be re-investigated but suggested there should be a request through the Irish Embassy, Mr Disney said.

Friends First separately made a report to the gardaí in relation to the circumstances of him taking out the policy and as a result an investigation has been started into possible fraud offences, Mr Disney said.

Lawyers for both Friends First and Irish Life, in objecting to the case being admitted to the Commercial Court, told Mr Justice McGovern the garda and Indian investigations should be first allowed run their course.

They also argued that they were two separate claims and did not meet the €1m threshold for admission of cases to the commercial list.

The main objection of the companies was that this was not a business dispute but Mr Reddy Gogireddy was in fact seeking specific performance of business documents, namely life insurance policies, counsel said.