The New India Assurance Company, the largest general insurer in the country, will make all efforts in earnest to go to the rescue of the Hudhud cyclone-hit policy holders in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts, according to Chairman and Managing Director G. Srinivasan.

He made the promise to the policy-holders at a meeting here on Sunday evening after visiting the cyclone-hit units in the Visakhapatnam district such as the Visakhapatnam steel plant, Coromandel International and some small-scale units. He said his company was "fully aware of its responsibility to its clients in the hour of crisis. We have received 700 claims so far, of which we have already made the on-account (interim) payments in 275 claims. In the remaining claims also, we will make the interim on-account payments by the month-end. The full claim settlement will be completed by the second or third week of November. We have made an assurance to the AP Chief Minister to that effect."

Lack of awareness

He said he had met Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in Hyderabad on Saturday and apprised him of the steps being taken by his company for speedy settlement of the claims. He said there was lack of awareness in the country about insurance and "the industrial units have to insure themselves for the replacement value of the assets. Insurance is not very costly, but most of the small units are not even insured or they are grossly underinsured, which does not serve the purpose."

He later told reporters that the Visakhapatnam steel plant and some of the bigger units had not yet submitted their claims as they were evaluating the damage. He said his company would later conduct workshops to promote awareness about insurance.

The CMD promised the policy-holders that he would visit the area again and that his company had appointed a team at the central office to monitor constantly the claims from the region and to facilitate their speedy settlement.

>sarma.rs@thehindu.co.in

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