In Brief
A man in Mozambique died of malaria contracted from a mosquito bite while working there. His heirs claimed on his home-loan insurance policy, arguing the death was accidental. The District Forum, State Commission, and National Commission all upheld the claim. The insurer appealed, contending malaria is a disease, not an accident. The Supreme Court held that death from malaria in a malaria-endemic region (where one in three people contract it) is not an "accident" under the policy—it occurs in the natural course of events and is neither unexpected nor unforeseen. The Court distinguished between accidents and diseases transmitted normally, setting aside the lower commission's judgment and disallowing the claim.
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