Oman: Regulators urged insurers to ease claims procedures in wake of Cyclone Mekunu
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Jul 2018
Oman’s insurance regulator Capital Market Authority (CMA) has urged insurers to expedite the settling of claims for the losses due to Cyclone Mekunu, which hit the sultanate in late May. It was the strongest ever recorded to lash southern Oman and the sultanate’s third-largest city of Salalah.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem Al Salmi, executive president of the CMA, held an emergency meeting with insurance firms. The meeting considered various proposals to ease claims procedures for clients whose properties were damaged in the cyclone which included extending work hours in the branches of insurers in affected areas.
Mr Ahmed Ali al Maamari, vice president of insurance sector at the CMA, told Muscat Daily that it is too early to make any assumptions about the losses, but “things are not as bad as we have imagined earlier”. Road connectivity in many remote areas was affected due to flooding.
Dr K P Sebastian, chief operating officer at New India Assurance in Oman, said the company has 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,” he said. On estimated losses, he said there would be some infrastructure losses. M