Four public sector insurance companies settles 32% of claims received after flood

Out of 19,500 claims for estimated Rs 2,519 crore, 6,237 claims for a total of Rs 104 crore have been settled till last week

Four public sector insurance companies - United India Insurance Company Ltd, New India Assurance Company Ltd, Oriental Insurance Company Ltd and National Insurance Company Ltd - have so far settled around 32 per cent of the 19,500 claims they received from the flood affected areas of Tamil Nadu, especially Chennai.

There claims are for an estimated amount of Rs 2,518.81 crore and the insurance firms have until January 8, 2016, settled 6,237 claims by paying around Rs 104 crore, according to a senior official from an insurance company.

"We had some camps organised in the select cities and advertised in newspapers. Surveyors have been asked to give the report within five days. Once they gave the report the claim was settled within two to three days. The small claims are settled within 10 days, while major claims may require more time," said M P Jairam, deputy general manager, United India Insurance Co Ltd.

Of the total claims, around 6,573 claims for a total of estimated Rs 1,358.09 crore were received by United India Insurance, out of which the company has settled 2,287 claims for Rs 47.39 crore. The second largest number of claims were to New India Assurance, which received 5,192 claims for Rs 542.74 crore, of which 1,593 claims worth Rs 30.63 crore have been settled.

National Insurance has seen 4,825 claims for a total estimated Rs 263.43 crore, out of which the company has settled 1,691 claims for Rs 11.73 crore. The second largest in terms of amount of claims is for Oriental Insurance, which received 2,910 claims for an estimated Rs 354.55 crore, out of which 666 claims have been settled for Rs 14.51 crore. The numbers include individual and company claims.

A large number of claims were for two- and four-wheelers and some commercial vehicles, he said.

Meanwhile, various industrial associtions complained that several banks and insurance agencies are not properly extending their support to the micro, small and medium level companies to revive their business from the disaster. They alleged that many of the surveyors do not understand the technical requirements and while the critical machines are completely damaged, the claims are settled only by calculating the depreciation, which is affecting the revival plans. They also alleged that the number of claims settled are high considering the priority was on settling smaller claims such as that of two- and four-wheelers while the larger claims from the industry are still pending.

A group of micro and small units have formed a consortium and are planning to conduct a massive protest in Chennai. The micro, small and medium entrepreneurs are asking support including waiver or moratorium for various taxes, moratorium for various loans and financial support from banks, apart from addressing issues with electricity board and other government authorities related to settling the bills.