Families of both Cyrus Mistry and Jahangir Pandole who were in the back seats of ill fated Mercedes SUV and died in the accident will be the claimants of third party(TP) motor claims as Indian insurance laws define all passengers in a private vehicle are covered under mandatory third party cover

Not wearing a seat belt by Mistry and Pandole while travelling though may be a small lapse on their part, but will not come in the way of settling any legitimate insurance claims, said industry observers

According to the Superintendent of police, Palghar, Balasaheb Patil, the accident happened due to the driver’s loss of control due to overspeeding. “Primarily it seems that the accident happened due to the driver’s loss of control

Mumbai:

Former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry and a co-passenger killed in a car crash were not wearing seat belts, as per a preliminary probe, and over-speeding and the ”error of judgement” by the driver caused the accident, a police official said.

Mistry, three others were enroute to Mumbai from Gujarat in a Mercedes car which hit a road divider on a bridge over the Surya river, killing Mistry and Jahangir Pandole on the spot.

Future Generali General Insurance, where Italian major Generali has a majority stake, has insured the ill fated vehicle- a Mercedes SUV, said sources.

The company after due diligence has to settle own damage(OD) and mandatory motor third party(TP) claims of all the victims-injured and dead- who were travelling the car.

The families of both, Mistry, an Irish citizen and Jahangir Pandole, who were in the back seats and died in the accident will be the claimants of TP motor claims as Indian insurance laws define that all passengers, who are travelling in a private vehicle, are covered under mandatory TP cover.

The TP cover also includes injured persons. Four people were present in the car; two died on spot and two were moved to hospital,Palghar police officials said.

Anahita Pandole and Darius Pandole, the two other present in the car, have been severely injured. Anahita Pandole is a gynaecologist in Breach Candy hospital and Darius Pandole was an independent director in Tata group firms.

Asia Insurance Post(AIP)) had contacted Future Generali general officials including company’s MD & CEO Anup Rau to ascertain any of its initiatives to settle claims but hasn’t received any response yet.

Industry observers say that the insurer either can settle the high value third party claims by directly negotiating with the families of Mistry, Pandole and other injured persons in the accident, who are still being treated in the Mumbai hospital, or it has to be decided by the MACT(Motor Accident Claims Tribunal), in case any dispute occurs between the families of victims and the insurer over the amount of claim, after due adjudication.

`While settling OD claim of Mercedes SUV will be a simple matter, deciding about the TP claims can be a complicated one as billionaire Mistry, who was just 54, Pandole and other two injured passengers are all high net worth individuals.

“Yes, it will be a kind of record claim for the Indian insurance market or for that matter global insurance industry. It is yet to be known what kind of reinsurance protection, particularly excess loss cover, Future Generali has taken for this kind of high value covers,” said industry observers.

In excess loss cover, which is taken where large claims are expected, the insurer’s liability is limited upto a particular amount and beyond that reinsurers have to pay the claims.

Not wearing a seat belt by Mistry and Pandole while travelling though may be a small lapse on their part, but will not come in the way of settling any legitimate insurance claims, said industry observers.

Prima facie, the luxury car was speeding when the accident took place on Sunday afternoon, police official said.

The Mercedes car covered a distance of 20 km in just nine minutes after crossing the Charoti check post in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, 120 km away from Mumbai, the official said on Sunday night.

The car hit a road divider on a bridge over the Surya river, killing Mistry (54) and Jahangir Pandole on the spot.

Mistry was returning to Mumbai from Ahmedabad when the tragedy struck at 2.30 PM.

The car was driven by Mumbai-based gynaecologist Anahita Pandole (55). She and her husband Darius Pandole (60) were seriously injured in the accident.

”As per preliminary investigation, over-speeding and the error of judgement caused the car accident. Both the deceased were not wearing seat belts,” the official said.

Mistry and Jahangir Pandole were in the back seats. Darius Pandole was in the front seat and his wife Anahita Pandole was at the wheel, police said.

An eye-witness had said a woman was driving the car and tried to overtake another vehicle from the left side, but lost control and crashed into the road divider.

According to the Superintendent of police, Palghar, Balasaheb Patil, the accident happened due to the driver’s loss of control due to overspeeding.

“Primarily it seems that the accident happened due to the driver’s loss of control. More details will be revealed only after the investigation, but prima facie it seems that the accident happened due to overspeeding and the driver not getting the right judgement. There were 4 people in the car, one of whom was a woman and the woman was driving the car. At present, the woman is injured and is undergoing treatment,” the police official said.

The official noted the presence of “blind spots” at various places on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway and stated that the subject has been placed before the Blind Spot Eradication Committee.

“Efforts are also being made by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to eliminate these blind spots,” the SP said.

”While analysing the footage captured by CCTV cameras at the Charoti check post, Palghar police found the car had crossed the check post at 2.21 pm and the accident took place 20 km ahead (in the direction of Mumbai),” he said.

This shows the car covered a distance of 20 km (from the check post) in just nine minutes, the official said, adding that the accident took place at 2.30 pm on the Surya river bridge.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio, has asked police to conduct a detailed investigation into the accident.