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The New India Assurance Company has so far received 2,000 claims amounting in all to Rs 500 crores in the aftermath of Chennai rain devastation and so far it has settled 200 claims amounting to Rs 6 crores, according to G. Srinivasan, the Chairman and Managing Director.
He was interacting with the media here on Wednesday. He said it was too early after the Chennai rains and floods and the company would expeditiously settle the claims. On-account payment would be made to the affected parties for immediate relief. He said there was no scarcity of surveyors in Chennai. "Surveyors from Bengaluru and AP are also on the job and Chennai also has sufficient number of surveyors. Therefore, there is no problem of surveyors which we faced here in Visakhapatnam after the Hudhud cyclone in 2014," he explained.
Referring to Hudhud claims in Visakhapatnam, Srinivasan said the company had settled almost all the claims, paying out Rs 450 crores, but "20 or so claims are still pending amounting to Rs 60-70 crores. These claims are stuck due to various complications but we are sorting out the issues."
He said New India Assurance was also focusing on international operations and 20 per cent of its business was coming from abroad. "Recently, we have opened an office in Myanmar and we are opening offices in Qatar and Canada," he added.
Srinivasan said the company had collected Rs 16,050 crores in premium income and made a profit of Rs 1,431 crores, and the target for the current year was Rs 18,000 crores in premium income. "We have already collected Rs 11,800 crores in premium income by November and we are sure of achieving the target. We have made a profit of Rs 788 crores in the first half of the year," he said.
Referring to the insurance sector, he said the IRDA had taken a decision to allow foreign re-insurers to set up offices in India and it was a significant development. Nearly 40 or so new regulations may also come into force, he said.
In response to a question, he said after the Chennai rains and floods "we are learning many lessons, just as we learnt many lessons after Hudhud cyclone in Visakhapatnam. Experts are coming up with new risk mitigation strategies. People are also growing aware of the need for insurance."
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