In the aftermath of damage to vehicles due to the Vadodara deluge, the Gujarat government has requested insurance companies to consider repair of private four-wheelers up to the current value of vehicles if the owners do not wish to concede a “total loss” as per policies.
During a meeting held with public sector and private insurance companies, Vadodara Collector Bijal Shah, on behalf of the government, also communicated to the insurance companies to consider claims of retail traders for loss of goods if endorsed by the civic body and substantiated by photographs.
Following a series of review meetings on Monday with Minister of State for Home, Harsh Sanghavi, who is also the guardian minister of Vadodara, Bijal Shah and Vadodara city BJP chief Dr Vijay Shah met insurance companies to discuss the issue of damage caused to private vehicles and goods of retail traders.
At the meeting, collector Shah requested the insurance companies to consider repair of cars if the vehicle owners insist on the same, instead of classifying severely drowned vehicles as “total loss” as per insurance norms. “We have requested the insurance companies to allow owners to choose repairs instead of total loss to the vehicle up to the limit of the insured value of the vehicle… The insurance companies have shown a positive response. We will take this forward in the meetings with them in the days to come to expedite the surveys, repairs and settlement of claims for the common people,” Bijal Shah told The Indian Express.
According to a senior official, the government has also raised concern on the issue of disposal of a huge number of vehicles that would be classified under ‘total loss’ as per the vehicle insurance policies that classify flooded cars in three categories — A (flooded upto floor-level), B (submerged upto seat-level) and C (water level above dashboard).
“Insurance companies have been asked to consider if Category C cars can be repaired up to the insured value because Vadodara is a city with a huge middle-class population and although for the insurance company, the value of a vehicle will be the current depreciated price, for the owner the cost is the purchasing price… We have communicated to the insurance companies to bring out any bottle-necks they are facing so that the government can extend logistical support in expediting the process,” said Vijay Shah.
He added that the insurance companies have been requested to call in surveyors from other cities to Vadodara to expedite the survey and to ensure that automobiles are repaired and returned to the owners, as far as possible.
At the meeting, the Collector also requested insurance companies to consider the self-attested claims of traders for loss of goods with endorsement from the civic body and also supported by photographs and videography of the goods before they are disposed of.
On Monday, the meeting with insurance companies was held within hours after Sanghavi, who was on his third visit to Vadodara since the flood waters receded on August 29, met representatives from the Vadodara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and various retail traders associations assuring that the government would “intervene” in settling claims for losses incurred. VCCI president Himanshu Patel urged the government to waive off ‘property tax’ as relief for small and medium enterprises of Vadodara.
Paresh Parikh, president of the Traders’ Association of Vadodara, urged the government to appoint a team of surveyors to provide relief to traders who have suffered losses.
During his visit, Sanghavi termed that the public in Vadodara was angry “because of the belief and trust placed” in the state government. “People show their anger on those who they place their trust in and we understand that… We are doing our best to ensure that Vadodara is up and about again, especially with the upcoming festivals. We will ensure that Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratri are celebrated with grandeur in the city as every year,” the minister said.
The government will discuss in detail the Vishwamitri River project on Tuesday in Gandhinagar, he added. Sanghavi informed that the government has so far distributed cash doles, including that for restoration of homes, to 64,360 families in the city limit and 20,610 families in the district.
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