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Are people becoming more adept at dealing with torrential rains and water-logging? This could well be the case, according to a number of general insurers. There is increasing awareness amongst policyholders on the dos and don’ts during such calamities, they say.
The insurance industry, therefore, is not expecting a significant spurt in claims despite the heavy rains and water-logging in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra in recent days.
“People have grown used to the rains now and try not to leave their homes unnecessarily or take out their cars during heavy showers,” said Sanjay Dutta, Chief of Underwriting and Claims, ICICI Lombard General Insurance. While it is too early to hazard a guess on the number of claims that are likely to arise, Dutta doesn’t think it will be as high as what cropped up after the floods in August last year. General insurers are estimated to have paid out nearly ₹500 crore to policyholders following the Mumbai floods last August, and nearly ₹5,000 crore after the floods in Chennai in December 2015.
People typically purchase insurance protection for their vehicles, health and home/shop against natural calamities. A majority of the protection is for motor insurance and much of the business is done through state-owned general insurers.
Engine damage
An executive with state-owned National Insurance said the company is getting ready for claims, which are likely to come in from next week.
“During floods and water-logging, the main risk to cars is from engine damage. But, for this, people need to have a policy which provides specific cover for engine protection. Most people are not aware of this,” said Puneet Sahni, Head - Product Development, SBI General Insurance, adding that the insurer is not expecting a big spurt in claims this time around.
Sukhesh Bhave, Head - Accident and Health Claims, SBI General Insurance, said that on a year-on-year basis, the percentage of claims for water-borne diseases has reduced from the perspective of insurance companies. “There can be an infectious outbreak after water-logging in many areas. But it is difficult to say at present if the number of claims will increase,” Bhave said.
The highest number of claims against water-borne diseases — such as typhoid and paratyphoid fevers, diarrhoea and dysentery, acute gastroenteritis, viral hepatitis, cholera and acute encephalitis — are made during the monsoons.
Increased awareness
According to data with SBI General Insurance, the majority of insurance claims, at over 50 per cent, is made by residents of metros. However, the percentage of claims from metros has come down to about 54 per cent in 2017-18 from 59 per cent in 2015-16, while those from non-metros has increased to 46 per cent of all claims.
“This is because there is increased awareness in the non-metro cities on the need to report and treat such diseases,” it said.
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