India’s insurance claims for crashes are low

Analysis into traffic crashes in India has revealed that only around half of the country’s road deaths in 2015/2016 resulted in insurance claims. There were around 146,000 road fatalities in India during this period. The problem has been revealed by India’s Supreme Court. There are suggestions that the families of many of the road death victims do not know that they are entitled to compensation. The Supreme Court has pointed out that the four major sector insurers holding around 90% of the country’s busines
October 24, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Analysis into traffic crashes in India has revealed that only around half of the country’s road deaths in 2015/2016 resulted in insurance claims. There were around 146,000 road fatalities in India during this period. The problem has been revealed by India’s Supreme Court. There are suggestions that the families of many of the road death victims do not know that they are entitled to compensation. The Supreme Court has pointed out that the four major sector insurers holding around 90% of the country’s business; National Insurance (NIC), New India Assurance, Oriental Insurance (OICL) and United India Insurance, collected over US$3.17 billion in premiums while only paying just over half of this towards claims for crashes. Of these, 24% of the claims were for fatal crashes.

India’s road safety record is very much in the spotlight as between 2013 and 2015, the rate of road deaths rose by 6%. However the number of insurance claims fell by 15% for the same period and payments to the families of victims dropped by 10%. The Supreme Court is pushing the Indian Government to take action and heighten awareness amongst families of their rights in regard to insurance claims following vehicle crashes.

Related Content

  • India’s high road deaths require change
    December 8, 2016
    India’s road deaths are providing a wider cause for concern. Official data pegs the road fatality rate for the country at over 146,000 in 2015, an increase over the 139,671 recorded in 2014. However there are also thought to be many unreported deaths, so the actual figure could be considerably higher. India's Ministry of State for Road Transport and Highways has revealed that there were 501,423 reported road crashes in 2015, a worrying increase from the 489,400 crashes in 2014. There were more than 500,0
    Read More
  • India’s poor road safety requires improvement
    September 13, 2016
    The Indian Government has revealed that 146,133 people died in crashes on the country’s roads during 2015. This figure is of concern as it is an increase of 4.6% over India’s road fatality rate of 139,671 for the previous year. Also of concern is the fact that over half of the people who died in crashes were aged from 15-34, revealing that there is a particularly high risk for the young on India’s roads. The data also shows that there were 501,423 reported crashes on India’s road network in 2015, an increas
    Read More
  • India’s poor road safety sees increasing deaths
    June 14, 2016
    Official statistics from India paint a poor picture for road safety, with road deaths increasing. During 2015 there were around 146,000 reported deaths from road crashes in the country, an average of 400/day and an increase of 5% from the previous year. Road crashes increased by 2.5% to around 501,000 in 2015. The actual casualty figure for India may be significantly higher however as many road deaths go unreported. Capital Delhi saw 1,622 road deaths during 2015 the greatest number for any city, althoug
    Read More
  • Poor road safety causes too many deaths
    December 13, 2016
    Road safety is an issue that rarely grabs headlines, although it is something that affects people around the globe. Road deaths account for a shockingly high percentage of deaths worldwide, with the risks being particularly high in developing countries. This poses such a threat to public health that the United Nations has been taking steps to address the issue, commencing with its Decade of Action on Road Safety in 2010. The focus has been on developing countries, due to the rapid increase in road deaths in
    Read More

Highlighted Content