Insurance companies are processing claims from the families of victims who were covered under various policies, including travel insurance, life insurance, personal accident covers, and even Kisan Credit Card-linked policies.
“We have received claims primarily under travel insurance and personal accident insurance products. These include accidental death, trip cancellations, loss of baggage and hotel cancellations,” said Priya Deshmukh, Head of Health Products, Operations & Services at ICICI Lombard.
“At ICICI Lombard, we are working on a priority basis to provide seamless assistance and ensure timely settlement. We remain committed to supporting our policyholders and their families during this difficult time,” she added in a response to PTI.
The claims come in the wake of the June 12 crash involving a London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which lost thrust shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad airport and slammed into a medical college hostel in the Meghaninagar area. The crash killed 241 of the 242 people onboard and 19 on the ground, marking the deadliest aviation accident in India in a decade.
Bajaj Allianz General Insurance said it had received three claims under travel personal accident coverage and one under marine cargo insurance. Marine cargo insurance typically covers goods in transit via road, rail, air, sea, or courier.Personal accident claims are reportedly among the most common, second only to life insurance payouts. However, most insurance firms have not disclosed specific numbers, citing the ongoing nature of claims processing.In one notable case, a group personal accident policy covering 4,000 individuals in Mehsana district led to a settlement within a week of the crash, a representative said.
New India Assurance has settled seven individual personal accident claims and five under group personal accident policies. One claim of ₹50,000 was processed under the Kisan Credit Card scheme.
Immediately after the crash, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) stepped in with a circular on June 14, instructing insurers to fast-track claim settlements. The regulator directed companies to waive standard requirements like FIRs and postmortem reports, appoint nodal officers, and provide weekly claim updates starting June 16.
Axis Max Life Insurance COO Manu Lavanya said the company had successfully processed one claim within hours. “We were able to settle a claim for one of the victims of the tragedy within just three hours, which reflects our focus on empathetic action when it matters most,” Lavanya said.
Insurance companies say they expect more claims to surface in the coming weeks as families gradually come to terms with the tragedy.
With inputs from PTI
