In Brief
A health insurance company refused to renew a family health policy and denied reimbursement for cancer treatment, citing the wife's earlier non-disclosure of rheumatic heart disease at policy inception. The wife died of cancer, unrelated to the concealed disease. Lower consumer forums ordered reimbursement and renewal. The National Commission partly allowed the insurer's challenge, upholding reimbursement for the original policy but denying renewal thereafter. The Supreme Court reversed this, holding that once the insurer accepted non-disclosure was immaterial (by not contesting lower orders) and had received renewal premiums, it could not later deny claims. Policy must be renewed and all claims paid where the disclosed disease was unrelated to the claimed illness.
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