Page 5 - Insurance Times September 2019

General Insurance

News

Motor Vehicles Bill pro- Odisha farmers threaten to stage protest for insurance
poses compensation for claim
road accidents As much as 1.5 lakh farmers in Ganjam district of Odisha are threatening to
stage a protest against the insurance company which
The Lok Sabha has passed the Mo- enrolled them under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana
tor Vehicles (PMFBY) last year.
(Amendment)
Bill, 2019, Controversy arose from the disagreements over the
which pro- total area affected by Cyclone Titli last October. Accord-
poses a com- ing to sources in the district administration, the company paid a smaller num-
pensation of Rs 5 lakh for death and ber of affected people than identified in the post-cyclone survey.
Rs 2.5 lakh for a serious injury in a Last October, Cyclone Titli caused heavy devastation in the districts of Ganjam
motor vehicle accident. and Gajapati with wind speeds up to 150 kmph. Heavy rainfall caused flood-
The Bill stipulates increased penal- ing in several parts of the districts. The cyclone left more than 60 people killed.
ties for violations, facilitates the "A joint team of insurance officials, agriculture and revenue department offi-
grant of online learning licence, sim- cials conducted a review. Based on eye estimation, compensation was to be
plifies insurance procedures and given to Gram Panchayats (GPs) that sustained 50% and above crop loss," said
protects those who come to the res-
cue of accident victims. Manoj Behera, Deputy Director of Agriculture in Ganjam. "We initially gave a
list of 112 GPs to the company, but they ended up paying in around 59 GPs,"
The Bill will also make an he added.
increasement in the period for
transport license renewal from General insurers record 12.99% growth in April-July
three years to five years. The licens-
ing authority would be empowered A 12.99% growth has been reported by general insurance companies in their
to grant licences to differently-abled gross direct premium at Rs 55,450.42 crore between April and July as against
persons too. to the corresponding period a year ago. In July, their premiums recorded 22.73%
growth against the corresponding month last year. According to market par-
Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari
said the Central Government had no ticipants, despite strong growth in July, the motor insurance segment contin-
intention to take away the rights of ues to witness a dip in premiums largely due to a fall in car sales in India.
states, while responding to the ob- Among the 25 general insurers, New India Assurance, Bajaj Allianz General
jections by the opposition party. He Insurance, SBI General Insurance and Tata AIG General Insurance saw a posi-
said the legislation was not binding tive growth in the April-July period, revealed the data from IRDAI.
on states. Pushan Mahapatra, MD & CEO of SBI General Insurance, said, “We have been
He further added that the Bill had doing consistently well and except motor insurance, we have grown in the
been examined by the parliamen- segments such as health, agriculture and property. Motor insurance is a chal-
tary standing committee and a se- lenge not only for us but for the entire industry. With drop in new vehicle sales
lect committee. we have to look at how the growth can come from other lines of business.”
The Insurance Times, September 2019 5