Insurance claims pouring in from cyclone-hit AP and Odisha

Claims have started pouring in from Cyclone Hudhud-hit areas of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha and insurers are gearing up to settle them.

Claims have already started pouring in from the cyclone-hit areas in the two states and we will immediately make interim payment against those claims.

For the Jammu & Kashmir floods, we have already settled 40 per cent claims and we are hopeful of settling the remaining by the fiscal end, New India Assurance chairman and managing director G Srinivasan told PTI.

The rate of insurance or even reinsurance might go up due to the two recent calamities. However, insurers are currently busy collecting the data to arrive at a conclusion. There is no immediate impact on the rates as we anticipate one or two incidents every year. Last year we had the Uttarakhand floods.

After all, we will have to wait to see the impact in Vizag area. As of now we don't have full idea. Based on the full information of loss we receive from the Hudhud-hit areas, the market would react accordingly, said Srinivasan, who is also the chairman of General Insurers (PSU) Association (GIPSA).

Reinsurance rates are soft and generally reinsurers will not be happy to see major losses due to these natural incidents, he added.

Still, we will have to wait until February-March when the reinsurance premiums will come up for renewal, Srinivasan said. Meanwhile, insurers are taking various steps to help the victims of cyclone Hudhud in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

Private sector non-life insurer ICICI Lombard, which offers motor, home, health and other insurance products to its customers in the state, has taken a host of such initiatives.

They include outbound communication to customers to check safety and provide immediate assistance, dedicated hotline number to intimate claims and for query resolution and special teams to expedite claims.

- PTI