Amid the widespread devastation caused by Cyclone Michaung and floods in Chennai and its suburbs, the number of insurance claims may not be substantial this time compared to the 2015 floods, but in terms of value, it will probably be as important as the previous one. according to general insurers.
Record rains and resulting floods have damaged several hundred cars as well as factories in and around Chennai in recent days. As the city returns to normalcy, general insurance companies have started seeing an increase in auto claims as flood-affected vehicles have started arriving at workshops and seeking insurance coverage for their expenses.
number of complaints
“The number of complaints started to increase yesterday. We estimate that all general insurance is likely to achieve total motor claims of over 10,000 and around 1,000 for non-motor claims, based on initial guidance. So far we have received over 300 claims and all property insurers combined would have received around 5,000 claims. Many people cannot take their vehicles to garages and these claims will come next, NK Sidhu, Managing Director of United India Insurance Co Ltd.
M Chandrasekar, deputy managing director of New India Assurance, estimated that the overall losses would be lower this time, but in terms of value, they would be as large as last time, or even higher than last time, because the inflation and other factors should be taken into account.
New India had paid 4,000 non-auto claims and 10,000 auto claims during the floods of 2015. “This time, I think the number of claims in the auto sector may not be very high. However, we are yet to receive feedback from the hard-hit vehicle-rich areas such as OMR, Velachery, etc. We have so far received 550 complaints in the automotive sector. This excludes dealer claims, which are yet to come,” he added.
“The water has started to recede and we are starting to receive insurance claims. That’s far less than we’ve seen before, at this point. That’s about 60-70% of the numbers we’ve seen before. We will have a clearer picture as we receive more requests and claim information. The situation in Chennai is still chaotic and people are mainly focused on themselves,” said TA Ramalingam, CTO of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance.
General insurers are estimated to have taken a hit of around ₹5,000 crore due to post-flood claims in 2015, with the auto segment accounting for the highest. The total number of claims of all categories received by general insurance companies was then around 50,000.
Automobile major Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) said the company’s service points reported around 500 flood-affected vehicles in Chennai and 25 vehicles in Nellore in Andhra Pradesh.
“The average flow of MSIL vehicles is uniform and we do not expect a sharp increase in the number because even before the cyclone hit, Maruti Suzuki had proactively sent SMS to 7 lake customers on precautions to be taken for minimize the damage,” Rahul said. Bharti, Executive Director, Corporate Affairs, MSIL.
Post-flood period of 2015, around 6,500 flood-affected Maruti Suzuki vehicles arrived at its workshops.
cars affected by floods
“So far, we have seen a moderate increase in the flow of flood-affected cars into our service workshops and our dealers are listening to customers. We also treated a few electric cars affected by the floods. No major issues have been reported or observed, a Tata Motors Ltd spokesperson said.
At the same time, Tata Motors has offered an extension of the standard warranty period, an extended warranty period, an annual maintenance contract period and a free service period for vehicles in the affected region. Contracts expiring between December 1 and 15 will be valid until December 31, 2023
Meanwhile, state Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu held a meeting with representatives of 13 general insurance companies to ensure speedy resolution of claims of auto customers of flood-affected insurers. He urged companies to visit the site to assess vehicle damage in order to submit claims on time.
Thennarasu also assured that the government would make arrangements to provide temporary space for maintenance of damaged vehicles.
UII’s Sidhu said general insurers have assured to relax general guidelines as a measure of support to flood-affected customers. “The AUI will relax certain standards, while other insurers will also grant certain exemptions,” he added.
