The number ofmotoraccident Insurance claims settled or booked in 2020-21 inAndhra Pradeshwas the lowest since 2016.
The third-party insurance claim settlements witnessed a steep decline of about 50 per cent in 2020-21 compared to the year before, according to the of India (IRDAI) on the basis of data submitted by the insurers.
Similar was the case with the quantum of compensation paid to the claimants in the last five years in Andhra Pradesh.
In absolute numbers, as many as 18,308 claims were intimated or booked in 2019-20 in Andhra Pradesh. This dropped to 12,470 during the corresponding period last fiscal.
According to experts, this can be attributed to the nation-wide lockdown during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and mobility restrictions, and the subsequent reduction in the number of roadaccidents.
For instance, there was a 16% drop in the number of accidents in Andhra Pradesh in 2020 compared to the year before. The state reported 15,512 overall road accidents last year against 18,462 accidents in 2019. Correspondingly, the death toll slid to 5,174 from 6,257 during this timeframe, representing a 17% decline.
Even the national figures reflected the same trend with a drop in the number of insurance claims. The number of claims stood in India at 4,87,085 in 2019-20. This number declined to 3,78,343 last fiscal.
Interestingly, the top three claimant states in terms of insurance settlement numbers in 2020-21 are located in south India. Kerala settled the highest numbers of claims at 52,301, followed by Tamil Nadu (48,036) and Karnataka (43,653). The number of claims in the majority of the north-eastern states was limited to double-digit numbers in 2020-21.