GIC Re plans hazard map to avoid loss during natural calamities

KOLKATA: Indian Reinsurer General Insurance Corporation or GIC Re has begun preparing a "hazard map" to identify disaster prone areas to avoid loss in case of natural calamities like Kedarnath disaster.

GIC Re chairman cum managing director Ashok K Roy said the reinsurer would insist on proper implementation of construction codes in disaster prone areas to avoid mass devastation.

He said that premium for insuring properties in those areas may be higher and there could be a mechanism whereby insurance companies can refuse claims if insured entities don't follow rules.

"Kedarnath is a wake up call," Roy said. "We have to learn to live with hazards and natural disasters."

The general insurance industry may face an estimated loss of Rs 3,000-4,000 crore to settle the claims from damaged power projects, motor vehicles and to fulfil the personal accident risk cover commitments.

Uttarakhand has some 245 power projects in the affected areas and many of them were severely damaged.

GIC Re is coordinating with ISRO for receiving satellite inputs for the research team which started working on the project just ahead of the Kedarnath tragedy.

“It's a massive project,” Roy said adding that it may take six months to complete it. The reinsurer plans to share its research with government authorities to make it count.