Atul Deshpande, Head of Claims, says policyholders need to ensure prompt intimation to insurers/middlemen.
General insurance companies have been informing their customers about claim services for damages caused by the recent heavy rains in Chennai.
In an interview, SBI General Insurance’s Head of Claims Atul Deshpande said that the company expects most of the claims to come from the motor segment. He also shared some key points that customers should keep in mind while filing their claim.
What are the main categories in which SBI General Insurance claims are expected to be raised?
SBI General has significant exposure to housing/home properties, shops, office establishments, godowns, small and medium units, factories and materials in transit. We anticipate most of the claims from private in the motor segment, especially for four and two wheelers.
What are the key points that policyholders should keep in mind while filing a claim?
Policyholders need to ensure prompt intimation to the insurers/intermediaries. This helps them to get the right guidance to prevent further damage and minimize the damage. Materials that are perishable in nature require prompt survey and disposal as per the guidelines of the local authorities, which is why a survey becomes a priority.
Policyholders are advised, wherever possible, to videograph or take photographs of the damaged property/properties prior to removal/replacement or destruction. It helps to present a strong case for their claim request in terms of the amount of evidence and damages.
In case of motor insurance, they need to ensure that the vehicles are not started after being hit by natural calamity or otherwise causing any damage while claiming settlement. This is because water can damage the engine, filter, fuel and such accessories and any attempt to start the vehicle can cause long-term damage. The best option for vehicle safety would be to reach out to the experts/repairers nearby and take the vehicles to the workshop to assess the situation by skilled mechanics.
Can you highlight some common mistakes that policyholders make while submitting claims?
We have observed that the insured mostly disposes of the material before surveying and documenting the loss. In such circumstances, it becomes difficult to establish and quantify the losses as well. Then a lot of secondary documentation is needed. Policyholders should avoid any delay in information.
In addition, all relevant documents such as purchase/sale invoices in case of stock, restoration estimates in property/motor vehicles need to be collected to arrive at the claim proceeds. We sometimes see delays in these aspects.
How many claims were received and settled by SBI General Insurance during incidents like Chennai floods, Cyclone Varda?
Under 2015 Chennai Flood – Property Insurance we made around 1,000 claims with a payment liability of around ₹80 crores. In Motor, we had around 530 claims amounting to ₹7.40 crore.
The Varda cyclone resulted in a loss of around 33 crores with around 300 claims in property and around 50 damages under motor resulting in damages of 33 lakhs.
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