The Hindu Business Line : Repair cost assessment sticky issue with private insurers<br> Flood-damaged Mumbai cars still stranded

A LARGE number of vehicle-owners hit by the recent floods in Mumbai will have to wait until private insurers and garages settle their differences on the estimate of repair cost.

The issue is mainly on the manner in which the scale of damage is assessed. Significantly, public sector insurers have agreed on standardised labour charges.

If the car was flooded up to seat level, 30 per cent of the repair cost would be covered. If the flooding touched the dashboard, 60 per cent of the charges would be covered. In the case of a fully submerged car it is Rs 9,000-Rs 14,000 for a Maruti, depending on the model of the car, and Rs 12,000-18,000 for a Hyundai car.

This kind of arrangement is not acceptable to the private insurers.

Mr Mahendra Dhruva, National President, Institute of Insurance Surveyors, says, "With our experience in Gujarat and Orissa, we have made a list of 110 potential areas in a vehicle that need to be checked and repaired. Some of the private insurers want us to cut down on this. We are not agreeable because if there is a problem with the vehicle later, it will amount to double work."

Mr Dhruva says that surveyors have now been assigned to various areas, as for instance, eight surveyors for every four service stations.

"There is a great deal of confusion with just 200 surveyors for so many cars. The biggest problem is that we are sometimes sent to the areas located at great distances. Sometimes, we cannot even trace the car to be surveyed because while it might be booked at a service station, it could actually be still with the client," says a surveyor.

He adds that it would be easier if insurers issued guidelines and published claim forms in newspapers.

There are over 15,000 cars and 30,000 two-wheelers that await repairs at various garages across the city.

Since PSU companies have received bulk of the claims given their control over 80 per cent of the market, there is a degree of clarity.

Mr Nitin Dossa, Executive Chairman, Western Automobile Association, says that a helpdesk has been set up for claim forms as well as for other assistance . He says that if the repairs are minor, owners should forego insurance because many are not aware that they are entitled to a claim bonus if they did.

Surveyors estimate that with 20 cars per dealer being repaired per day, it will take a month before all the cars are repaired.

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