Wayanad floods: Irdai instructs insurers to disburse claims immediately

Life and general insurers have been asked to appoint nodal officers to manage claims related to landslides

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) has directed all insurance companies to expedite surveying and payment of insurance claims to victims of Wayanad in Kerala.

The insurance regulator has also instructed insurers to mobilise all their resources to ensure immediate service response, including outsourced functions such as surveyors, loss adjustors, and investigators, to landslide victims of Wayanad.

The death toll from the catastrophic landslides, which hit the district in the early hours of July 30, has risen to 219, according to the state government.

Irdai has mandated that life and general insurers have to appoint a senior executive as the nodal officer to manage claims related to the landslides. It has also instructed that districts with a high volume of claims be managed by a designated District Claims Service Head, and contact details of state and district heads be published on insurers' websites and widely publicised in the press.

The insurers have to appoint an adequate number of surveyors and loss adjustors immediately and if needed, resources from neighbouring states could be also deployed, Irdai said.

To ensure expeditious final settlement, insurance companies are also expected to review and streamline the processing of claims by ensuring only such documentation necessary to substantiate claim quantum.

In case of claims related to loss of life, where it is difficult to obtain a death certificate due to non-recovery of the body, if the details of the insured match with the details of the deceased published by state or central government or appropriate government authorities, the claim may be considered without insisting for a death certificate, Irdai said.

According to the figures released by the district administration, 219 bodies and over 154 body parts have been recovered with around 206 persons still missing. Search efforts continue in the disaster-hit areas of Wayanad.