Dozens of people have been filing, or at least trying to file, for claims in various insurance companies on the island following the destruction of properties due to Typhoon Soudelor.<\/p>\n
Among the most inquired property for claims are damaged cars, which are quite a common sight on the island today.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, most cars, if not all, are not covered by their insurance policies for damage caused by a typhoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnless they really inquired about this, chances are, they have no cover for typhoon,\u201d Gol Cruz, general manager for Century Insurance Co., said.<\/p>\n
According to three of the insurance companies on island\u2014Century Insurance Co., Calvo\u2019s Insurance, and AON Insurance\u2014car insurance doesn\u2019t automatically cover damage incurred because of a typhoon and that most of their clients don\u2019t have typhoon coverage.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to pay extra premium to cover that,\u201d Corpuz said.<\/p>\n
While damage caused by earthquakes and falling objects may be covered by a comprehensive or \u201cfull coverage\u201d car insurance, Corpuz said that typhoons are \u201cmore risky,\u201d that\u2019s why it\u2019s not included.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a separate premium for that under the current tariff,\u201d Corpuz said. \u201cThe tariff is regulated by the insurance commissioner so you can say that you cannot deviate from that. The fact that they have separate premium for typhoons, it means its optional cover rather than mandatory. It is not automatic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Corpuz said some of their clients were surprised that they don\u2019t have coverage but that \u201cpolicies state very clearly that typhoons are not included.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said insurance coverage for typhoon costs 20 to 30 percent more than those without coverage.<\/p>\n
However, Corpuz said car damage claims \u201cmight fall under property, depending on how the policy is written.\u201d This could happen if cars or vehicles are stated as part of one\u2019s property.<\/p>\n
Building insurance<\/p>\n
Aside from cars, claims for buildings for residential and commercial are also being filed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still assessing, collating damage that were inflicted by Typhoon Soudelor,\u201d Calvo\u2019s general manager Eli Buenaventura said, adding that they\u2019ve been calling their clients one by one and that they will be visiting to check on the damage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are ready to pay. We are looking for ways to pay. We\u2019re not looking for denial,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
CIC said about two dozen have already filed claims with them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could increase as days go by. We understand people are still trying to regroup themselves in this aftermath, trying to fix whatever they could fix, then later on they might file a claim,\u201d Corpuz said.<\/p>\n
Asked if they have an estimate on how much the total claims would amount to, the companies said they don\u2019t have it yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have an estimate yet,\u201d AON\u2019s senior underwriter Tom Bernardo said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re talking about millions here. Right now we cannot determine exactly,\u201d Corpuz said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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