Mumbai:
Even as the insurers are now busy in compiling the claims out of the cyclone Fani,that may hit around Rs 1000 crores, the insuranace regulator IRDAI has asked all the insurers on Tuesday to extend every possible facilitation in quick and timely settlement of life insurance claims relating to the cyclone.
The regulator wants insurers to report the claims settled for the cyclone related deaths in Odisha and neighbouring states on a daily basis.
Cyclone Fani has resulted in immense loss to property and to some extent lives in Odisha and the neighbouring states. said IRDAI Among the worst hit are Bhubaneswar, Puri and the adjoining areas where thousands of people are still grappling with snapped power supply and acute water shortage
.
Meanwhile,the Centre has declared cyclone Fani an ‘extremely severe’ natural calamity with the death toll rising to 35. The move would allow the Orissa government to seek logistic and financial assistance at the national level.
The IRDA has outlined following measures to be adopted by the insurers to settle claims .
– Initiate immediate action to ensure that all reported claims are registered and eligible claims are settled expeditiously.
-.With regard to claims involving loss of life, where difficulty is experienced in obtaining a death certificate due to non-recovery of body etc., the process followed in the case of Chennai floods in 2015 may be considered.
-. A suitably simplified process/procedure including relaxations in the usual requirements wherever feasible may be considered to expedite claims settlement.
– Details of offices/special camps set up for the purpose may be publicized in the press, electronic media etc to enable immediate filing of claims. Details of such publicity activities may be sent to the IRDAI , immediately.
-. Progress report on the claims settled for the cyclone related deaths in Odisha and neighbouring states shall be separately submitted to ronanki.venkatesh@irda.gov.in and life@irda.gov.in on daily basis. PMJJBY claims data need to be submitted separately while including the same in total claims.
Insurance companies are likely to escape with minimum claims as most properties, especially houses, and crop were not covered for insurance in Orissa.Cliams out of the damaged crops in the state will be largest segment, said industry sources.
“Though cyclone Fani has now almost disappeared and waters are receding, there is damage across the state as some areas have experienced heavy rainfall and heavy winds. SBI General is doing its part to extend a helping hand to its customers in the affected region by implementing a smooth, error free process. In order to expedite the claims process further, we have set up a special helpdesk to service the policyholders and appointed officers to oversee the claim settlement process,” said Rikhil Shah, CFO, SBI General Insurance.
. "Tentatively the average size of claims would be around Rs 2-2.5 lakh. There is power outage in Bhubaneswar and cellular networks are down," Shah said.
Kolkata based National Insurance Company has constituted a special task force at their Bhubaneshwar regional office to facilitate and support customer enquiries relating to claim caused by Cyclone Fani..
A dedicated e-mail ID "Faniclaimsbbro@nic.co.in" has been created for intimation of claims on account of Cyclone Fani in the state of Odisha.The NIC Call CenterToll Free Number 1800 345 0330, has also been activated to handle all enquiries, said the company. .