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2 Dec 2015
As Tamil Nadu and its capital city Chennai grapple with the worst floods in a century, general insurers are gearing up to settle claims which are pegged at over Rs 600 crore so far.
As unseasonal rains continue to lash the state and the metropolitan region of Chennai, forcing the airport, railheads to be shut today, the industry feels these ongoing floods alone may add an additional burden of Rs 100 crore to them.
The spate of rains is the worst in a century. The state has reported around 200 deaths since the floods started in the middle of last month. The city turned an island today with roads, railhead, air links disrupted.
Many coastal areas of the state are marooned by flood waters after unprecedented rains in 100 years pounded the city, its suburbs and neighbouring districts destroying crucial road and rail links, shutting the international airport and rendering thousands homeless.
"Even as we don't expect much damage in the form of insured loss from the recent floods, which may be around Rs 100 crore for the industry, we feel that the total insured loss may top Rs 600 crore," ICICI Lombard General Insurance chief for underwriting, claims and reinsurance, Sanjay Datta told PTI.
SBI General has already received 200 claims and it expects that claims may go up. "We have already received 200 claims from the floods so far amounting to Rs 50 crore. However, we expect the claims will go up," SBI General Insurance managing director and chief executive Bhaskar J Sarma said.
Meanwhile, Tata AIG General Insurance said it has set up a dedicated team to fast-track claims settlement for claims from the killer flood.
The unprecedented rains have created havoc in Chennai, Puducherry and the surrounding areas.
In response to the calamity, a dedicated team at Tata AIG, is ready to attend to all the claim intimations quickly.
We will ensure that every customer and claim is attended to, with empathy and we will fast-track the claim settlement process to bring quick relief to our customers in the region a company statement said.
Source - Economictimes