(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- As the Omani authorities are working on plans to recover from the devastating effects of Cyclone Mekunu in Dhofar region, insurance companies are gearing up to handle the expected surge in claims.
Oman's insurance regulator the Capital Market Authority (CMA) has requested all the insurance companies to expedite the process for settling the claims for the losses suffered due to the cyclone. In this regard, H E Sheikh Abdullah al Salmi, executive president of the CMA held an emergency meeting with the insurance firms on Sunday.
The cyclone passed through Salalah, turning into a depression by Saturday evening but not before leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Authorities have sprung into action to provide immediate relief to affected persons, however, they are yet to ascertain the magnitude of losses as the road connectivity to many remote areas remains affected due to flooding.
'Today we held meetings with all the representatives of insurance companies operating in the country to discuss methods on how to help the people in their claims,' Ahmed Ali al Maamari, vice president of insurance sector at the CMA told Muscat Daily.
He said that the CMA has directed all the insurers to boost their branch capacity to facilitate expected surge in applications from clients, and if any company doesn't have a branch in Dhofar, talks are going on with the local chamber of commerce to provide them with temporary office space in Salalah.
On estimated losses due to the cyclone, Maamari said it is too early to make any assumptions about the losses but 'things are not as bad as we have imagined earlier'.
Echoing similar sentiments, A R Srinivasan, CEO of Arabia Falcon Insurance Co, said that things could have been worse. He said they have received some claims from unmovable losses, but motor insurance claims would start coming after a while as the government has declared three-day holiday.
Dr K P Sebastian, chief operating officer at New India Assurance Co in Oman, said the company has already sent surveyors to assist its clients in submitting claims. 'We are already seeing the pouring in of claims, but it will take some time before our surveyors could visit the affected sites and start working as road connectivity is still a challenge,' Sebastian said.
On estimated losses, he said there would be some infrastructure losses but thankfully most of major projects such the airport have been completed.
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