In recent days, extreme rainfall has occurred in a number of areas affected by typhoon dusore. Under the heavy rains, many vehicles were trapped in water, flooded and even washed away directly。
According to the beijing supervisory authority of the national financial supervisory authority, as at 8 a. M. On 31 july, the financial insurance industry in beijing had received a total of 978 insurance reports and 65 rescues of vehicles and personnel in distress。
Will the owners be compensated for the flooding of their vehicles? How can the safety of persons and property be maximized
No insurance for vehicles
On the question of whether the vehicle could be compensated for being flooded, the owner of the vehicle who had purchased the risk of damage had the best of his heart。
In accordance with the provisions of the motor vehicle loss insurance (known as the vehicle loss insurance), direct motor vehicle losses due to natural disasters, accidents and not covered by the exemption are compensable as agreed. In the case of natural disasters, the scope of compensation includes hail, as well as many common natural disasters such as thunderstorms, storms, storms and floods。
Many of the old drivers may have responded firstly to “water-related hazards” when the vehicle was flooded. The royal army, which taught the institute of insurance of the university of foreign economics and trade, said to china's news reporter: “there are no more water-related claims, all of which are covered by the accident. Whether the motors of the traditional cars enter water or the batteries of the new energy vehicles are damaged, they are included in the risk of loss.”
In particular, the guidance on the implementation of a comprehensive car insurance reform, which was formally implemented on 19 september 2020, introduced a major reform of our vehicle insurance policy. As long as the new and renewed users after the above-mentioned point of time are covered by additional risks such as water risk, they are no longer covered separately. Insurance is available for reimbursement in cases where vehicles are involved in water or water。
The beijing supervisory authority of the national financial supervisory authority also issued a reminder on 31 july that, following the launch of the comprehensive vehicle insurance reform, insurance coverage for vehicle losses had been extended to cover damage caused by natural disasters such as heavy rains and typhoons. In the event of a related loss to a vehicle, call the insurance company to report the damage in time to confirm whether the insurance is insured and follow up with the staff member's guidance。
If the car is washed away, will it affect the settlement
Heavy rains lead to flooding and sometimes extreme cases of vehicles being washed away directly. Can you pay for this
In the view of the royal army, there is no need to worry either: “first, where the vehicle was washed away, it is now essentially identifiable by location; if the vehicle is washed away completely and cannot be recovered, the insurance company will generally assume that the total loss will be compensated.”
In practical terms, the settlement of damages for lost vehicles requires the intervention of the public security organs. When the vehicle is ultimately not recoverable, the owner of the motor vehicle is required to present a certificate of loss to the local public security authorities, to process the vehicle write-off at the garage, and finally to the insurance company to settle the claim。
It should be noted, however, that when the vehicle is flooded, the engine does not go off, and the engine will not be activated or damaged. In the event of damage to the engine caused by a “re-fire” in water, the insurance company would generally consider it an exoneration from liability for “extension of loss” and would not pay compensation。
What do we do when the car's flooded
If it does occur, how should the owner operate? China new finance consulted with the client staff of several financial insurance companies。
People's insurance clients stated that the vehicle was flooded and that they should apply for compensation as soon as possible if they were insured, but that the amount of compensation would be based on the views of the claimant and would be accounted for according to the actual value of the vehicle and the circumstances。
The sunshine insurance staff stated that if the vehicle was blown up, contact the insurance company as soon as possible and that the staff would have to survey the site, otherwise the water would not have been able to identify the site since it was discharged。
It is noteworthy that, in principle, insurance companies have time limits for filing claims. However, according to the royal army, insurance companies also deal with special circumstances such as heavy rains. The insurance company staff also indicated that the actual situation did not necessarily require an application the same day, but that the application should be made as soon as possible。
“in exceptional circumstances, the owner and the persons on board must first guarantee the safety of the vehicle, which is abandoned, and in the event of loss or loss of vehicle, report it to the insurance company in a timely manner, following up on the insurance company process.” the royal army emphasizes that insurance companies may now, on the basis of large data, issue alerts to customers, such as moving cars, prior to risk, and be careful to do so。
Does it trigger an overall premium increase
Property losses due to extreme weather events naturally put some pressure on insurance companies to settle claims. According to official previously disclosed data, in 2021, the disaster in henan zhengzhou caused heavy rains and it is expected that the total insurance industry's vehicle risk insurance claims will eventually be paid in the amount of $7 billion。
In recent days, there have also been reports from the insurance industry that the recent rains have led to a straight increase in the settlement rates of insurance companies, and that subsequent insurance prices are likely to be adjusted. After the heavy rains, could a car that was not in danger get a premium up
A senior insurance practitioner indicated to china that normally higher settlement rates would lead to higher premiums, but this should have been taken into account in the design of insurance products。
“a number of heavy rains in recent years have also caused damage to vehicles, and it is unlikely that the insurance company will only discover this year that there are bubble trucks that have applied for compensation because of a weather disaster. When designing the product, these car losses are taken into account in the calculation model. General vehicle insurance premiums are calculated on the basis of such factors as the number of years of service of the vehicle, the number of accidents and the age of the insured person. According to these practitioners。
In addition, journalists consulted with the staff of a number of insurance companies, who responded that if a vehicle was in danger, it would be normal to increase the subsequent premium; no notice of adjustment of the premium was received for unrisk vehicles. However, individual insurance companies, sales department staff, have indicated that if the floods were severe, they could lead to a fine-tuning of premiums, but there was no precedent for a significant increase。
The royal army has also indicated that there is a real possibility of rising premiums in the future. “the current storm increases the overall risk and insurance companies will in the future increase the actuarial weight of the risk of a major disaster, otherwise the same disaster may be lost in the future.” but in his view, the overall premium should not increase too much。
At the same time, the royal army warns that, since the vehicle was voluntarily purchased by the owner, some would feel that their daily use of the vehicle was not damaged, rather than buying the vehicle, and that only three liability risks were involved. “in view of special circumstances such as water-related, self-burning, car damage insurance is still to be bought, especially in the case of newer and more valuable vehicles.” (reporter zhao ukun zhang ni)
