Insurers will have to pay out an estimated Rp 15.9 trillion (US$1.09 billion) in claims to policyholders affected by a tsunami that struck Lampung and Banten last week, according to insurance companies PT Maskapai Reasuransi Indonesia (REI) and PT Asuransi Maipark Indonesia.

They estimated at least 191 insurance risks from the disaster, which killed at least 430 people and devastated thousands of homes, buildings and infrastructure.

“The risks are mostly located close to the coastal areas that were hit by the tsunami on Dec. 22,” PT Reasuransi Maipark Indonesia president director Ahmad Fauzie Darwis said on Wednesday as quoted by kontan.co.id.

The figure was based on the total insurance exposures located along the two provinces’ coastal areas, which totaled to Rp 307 trillion, consisting of 17,843 risks.

Ahmad said the company had asked general insurance firms to report claims related to the recent tsunami.

PT Adira Insurance president director Julian Noor said his company had yet to receive claims from its customers but would be expecting them because of the extensive damage to commercial buildings such as hotels and motorized vehicles.

“I call on insurance policyholders to check their policies and see if they cover tsunami risks,” Julian said.

PT Asuransi Simasnet president director Teguh Aria Djana also said that no policyholders had reported their claims yet, but the company had started to check its partners and brokers for claims. (bbn)

Source:The Jakarta Post 2018-12-27