Ahmedabad air crash: Insurers process claims across travel, personal accident, life, and credit-linked covers
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
A broad spectrum of insurance claims has been filed following the devastating Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, ranging from baggage loss and hotel cancellations to personal accident and life insurance payouts , according to PTI.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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Pilots' grouping ALPA-India mulls legal course to be part of Air India plane crash probe
Pilots' grouping ALPA-India on Sunday said it is mulling legal recourse to have its members as part of the investigation into the Air India's Boeing 787-8 plane crash, a day after alleging that AAIB's preliminary report suggests a bias towards pilot error. The Airline Pilots' Association of India (ALPA-India) represents over 800 pilots of airlines and helicopter companies in the country. It is a member of the International Federation of Airline Pilots' Association (IFALPA), which claims to have 1 lakh pilots from across 100 countries as its members. Against the backdrop of the AAIB's preliminary report, representatives of ALPA-India will meet officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday to discuss various issues. "The preliminary report by the AAIB has been put up on the website. It does not have anyone's signature on it. We want transparency. We had asked for our representation in the investigation panel," ALPA-India President Sam Thomas told PTI. Thomas stressed that its members have domain expertise and can contribute meaningfully in the investigation of the Air India plane crash . Live Events The association is mulling legal recourse to ensure that its members are made a part of the investigation team. His comments come at a time when people from certain quarters are opining that fuel switches could have been cut off by a pilot, a proposition that has been strongly rejected by pilots' groupings. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) in its preliminary report on the crash that killed 260 people on June 12 said the fuel switches to the engines were cut off within a gap of 1 second immediately after takeoff and caused confusion in the cockpit of Air India flight AI 171. India's second largest airline by domestic market share, Air India is owned by the Tata Group. Citing cockpit voice recording, the 15-page preliminary report, released on Saturday, said one pilot asked why the switch was cut off and the other pilot responded that he did not do so. "We are once again surprised at the secrecy surrounding these investigations. We are also reiterating the fact that suitably qualified personnel are not taken on board for these crucial investigations," ALPA-India said in a statement on Saturday. "We feel that the investigation is being driven in a direction presuming the guilt of pilots and we strongly object to this line of thought," it had said. Last month, IFALPA offered its 'technical expertise' to the Indian civil aviation authorities in the Ahmedabad plane crash probe being conducted by the AAIB. In a letter to AAIB Director General G V G Yugandhar, the federation had said it was ready to provide expert technical and other forms of assistance, share global best practices and offer personnel to collaborate closely with the investigators. A five-member team appointed by the AAIB is probing the crash, which is also the first where a Boeing 787 Dreamliner accident resulted in hull loss. "Experienced pilots, engineers, aviation medicine specialist, aviation psychologist and flight recorder specialists have been taken on board as subject matter experts to assist the investigation in the area of their domain expertise," AAIB said in the preliminary report. PTI
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
2 hours ago
- Business Standard
Air India crash: Victims entitled to compensation, regardless of fault
While the initial findings of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) into last month's Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad did not explicitly attribute the incident to pilot error, insurance industry experts have stated that, even if pilot error were the cause, it would not affect insurance claim payouts. Regardless of whether the cause is pilot error or any other form of systemic failure, the victims remain eligible for compensation, they said. The Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed in Ahmedabad a month ago, killing 260 people, including those on board the flight and those on the ground, with only a single survivor from the incident. 'The insurance amount has to be paid by the airline because even if it was pilot error that caused the accident, that is covered in the policy. The insurance amount has to be paid irrespective of the scenario. Also, some of the victims have approached a UK law firm to get better compensation,' an insurance broker told Business Standard. The only case where there could be a change in the insurance payout is if Air India's management were found to have been aware of the accident. Only if the accident was deliberate by the airline would there be any change in the payout. 'A pilot's mistake does not change anything. The insurance is still payable. Only if the management has deliberately crashed the aircraft or were aware of the pilot's condition, people might be eligible for higher compensation. But, it is too early to comment on it,' another insurance broker told Business Standard. Typically, an aviation claim includes three kinds of liabilities: damage to the aircraft; loss of lives on board the aircraft, including the crew members; and third-party liability for loss of lives caused by the crash. It also includes cargo liability. The third-party liability compensation for those who lost their lives is governed by the Montreal Convention, which applies to most international flights. Under the Convention, airlines are strictly liable for damages up to a certain threshold—currently around SDR 128,821, or approximately ₹1.50 crore per passenger—and can be held liable for higher amounts if negligence, including pilot error, is proven. Industry experts have estimated insurance claims to the tune of $475 million, with $125 million for the hull and the remaining $350 million for liability, which includes third-party liability as well. The major part of the claims will likely be borne by global reinsurers, as aviation policies are typically structured with primary insurers transferring a significant portion of the risk through reinsurance arrangements. State-owned GIC Re is responsible for about 5.15 per cent of the $475 million—4 per cent from obligatory cession and 1.15 per cent written through its London branch. It will make the provision in Q1, which will be less than ₹200 crore. Air India had insured its fleet for $20 billion with Indian insurers, including TATA AIG General Insurance, ICICI Lombard General Insurance, New India Insurance, and other state-owned general insurance companies. TATA AIG has provided coverage for 30-40 per cent of the risk and is the lead insurer among the primary insurers.
The Hindu
5 hours ago
- The Hindu
From hotel cancellation to loss of baggage, Ahmedabad air crash victims opted for array of insurance
From hotel booking cancellations to loss of baggage, and from accidental death coverage to trip plan withdrawals, insurance companies have received a range of claims from the kin of the Ahmedabad Air India plane tragedy victims. The incident has triggered claims under various insurance categories like travel, personal accident, and life insurance, including those from Kisan Credit Card holders. '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.' "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," Priya Deshmukh, Head Health Products, Operations & Services, ICICI Lombard, said in response to a query by PTI. On June 12, the London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner began to lose thrust almost immediately after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport and ploughed into a medical college hostel in Meghaninagar area, killing all but one of the 242 onboard and another 19 on the ground in the deadliest aviation accident in a decade. Bajaj Allianz General Insurance said it has received claims related to personal accidents and marine cargo. "We have received three claims related to travel personal accidents coverage and one under marine cargo insurance," Bajaj Allianz General Insurance said in response to a PTI query. Marine cargo insurance typically covers goods in transit via road, rail, air, sea, or courier. Personal accident claims have emerged as a significant category, second only to life insurance. However, most insurers have refrained from disclosing the exact number or details of claims, citing the ongoing process of receiving formal requests from the families of the deceased. In one notable case, a group personal accident policy covering 4,000 people in Mehsana district resulted in a claim settlement within a week of the crash, a representative of the insurer said. A New India Assurance official said the company has settled seven claims related to personal accidents and five group personal accident claims. One claim of ₹50,000 was availed under the Kisan Credit Card scheme. Immediately after the accident, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) issued directives to fast-track the settlement of claims. In a circular dated June 14, the IRDAI asked all insurance companies to submit weekly updates on claims from June 16 onwards and further directed them to appoint nodal officers, waive formalities such as FIRs and postmortem reports, and expedite disbursals under life and personal accident policies. Company representatives said they have been expediting the claims received from the families. They said several kin are still grappling with the loss and would eventually approach them if there are any claims. Axis Max Life Insurance COO Manu Lavanya said that under the company's InstaClaim process, "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."
