Motor claims rise in May as traffic returns to roads

Road traffic is returning to normal across the country after a nationwide shutdown, with motor insurance claims with top insurers surging in May.

The re-opening of businesses and other activities has caused accident-related and maintenance related own-damage (OD) claims to surge in May to 50-60% of normal pre-COVID19 levels, as per indicative trends shared by insurers with The Economic Times.

In April, when the entire country faced widespread movement restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the claim ratio had fallen to below 10% of routine levels for most insurers.

Mr Tapan Singhel, CEO of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, said, “We have seen an increase in OD claims in May that we believe is also because of pent-up maintenance issues being reported.”

The widespread destruction in West Bengal and Odisha due to Cyclone Amphan also raised the claim frequency in May. “Over the week, we have also seen a marked jump in claims from eastern states, which we believe is due to damages related to Amphan,” said Mr Sanjay Datta, chief-underwriting & claims, at ICICI Lombard.

Source: Asia Insurance Review