The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA) has on Monday asked all insurers to take immediate steps to settle insurance claims due to recent floods in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and neighbouring districts of Andhra Pradesh.
“The recent flood has caused immense loss to life and property in the States of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and neighbouring districts of Andhra Pradesh. It needs to be ensured that all claims are surveyed within 72 hours and claim payments/on account payments are disbursed within 15 days,’’ Nilesh Sathe, Member, (Life) IRDA said in a circular.
There was an urgent need for us to take immediate steps to mitigate the hardships of the affected insured population of these States by ensuring immediate registration and settlement of eligible claims, he added.
The insurers should nominate a senior officer who would act as a nodal officer for the State, who would be coordinating/expediting the settlement of all claims that are reported in the affected States. The contact particulars of the officer/s may also be conveyed to us and due publicity be given.
The Nodal Officers should contact the Chief Secretary/Officer concerned immediately and be in regular contact thereafter.
A Nodal Officer may also be appointed in each affected district to liaise with the DM/ District Administration.
In case of death claims where death certificate is difficult to obtain on account of non-recovery of body etc, the process followed in case of recent Jammu & Kashmir floods may be considered.
In order to gauge the magnitude of the loss, all non life insurers (including Standalone Health Insurers) are advised to submit information relating to insurance claims in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry on a daily basis.