Page 56 - Insurance Times November 2023

Circular

IRDAI Corner

IRDAI advised Insurance Companies to Section 2 provides for a specific situation wherein a private
car owned by an employer, and used to carry employees, is
settle Sikkim flood Claims on Fast Track
involved an accident. At present, Clause 7 of Section 2 of
18.10.2023 Motor Tariff reads as follows:
The Floods in Sikkim have caused widespread loss to property Clause (7)(ii) of IMT: Legal Liability to employees of the in-
(homes and businesses) and infrastructure. The Sector Regu- sured travelling in and / or driving the employer’s vehicle
lator IRDAI issued instructions to all General Insurers and Liability to the employees of the insured travelling in or driv-
Standalone Health Insurance Companies to mobilise all re-
ing the employer’s motor vehicle, either excluding or includ-
sources to ensure immediate service response including en- ing paid driver may be covered on payment of additional
gaging the services of Surveyors, Loss Adjustors and Investi-
premium @ Rs. 50/- per employee, the premium being
gators for quick settlement of claims arising out of the havoc chargeable on the total number of such employee’s carried
created by the floods.
(including paid driver, if applicable) but not exceeding the
The insurers have been advised to communicate the nomina- maximum licensed seating capacity of the vehicle. The ad-
tion of a Senior Executive to the Chief Secretary immediately. ditional premium of Rs. 50/- per employee is net irrespec-
Districts reporting large numbers of claims to oversee by a tive of any period of insurance not exceeding 12 months
designated District Claims Service Head. The insurers to give
In this connection, Hon’ble Madras High Court, in CMA No.
wide publicity on the contact details of these officers in their
websites and also in the media. 2166 of 2019 & CMP No. 8871 of 2019 (United India Insur-
ance Co. Ltd., Vs Ilakkiyamathi & others) observed that in
Insurers are advised to respond/assist the claimants through cases of employees travelling in the private vehicles of the
their 24x7 helplines, special claims desks at district level with employers, met with an accident and got injured or faced
delegated Claims Settlement Authorities for speedy process- untimely death, it becomes a nightmare for the claimants
ing and settlement of claims. Insurers have been advised to to recover compensation from the employer. This leads to
settle claim payments/on account payments at the earliest claimants to suffer endlessly having lost their sole breadwin-
and also encourage policyholders to use electronic communi- ner or having suffered injuries.
cation wherever possible for correspondence.
Consequently, the Hon’ble Madras High Court has issued

directions to IRDAI to make IMT-29 compulsory as an inbuilt
Mandating of coverage, payment of pre-
coverage for employees while issuing a Private Car policy
mium under IMT-29 compulsory as an for such vehicles.
inbuilt coverage in a private car policy In accordance with the above directions of the Hon’ble
Madras High Court, the Authority, in exercise of the pow-
18.10.2023
ers conferred by Section 14(2) of Insurance Act 1938, hereby
Indian Motor Tariff 2002 (“Motor Tariff”) under Clause 7 of issues the following directions:

The Insurance Times November 2023 51