Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) plans to increase the level of claims that would require surveyors to assess losses. The proposal is to increase the limit for surveyors to Rs. 50,000 in case of motor and to Rs. 1 lac for fire and property. The average claim in motor insurance cases is Rs. 30,000 for personal vehicles and Rs. 50,000 for commercial vehicles. If the proposal is made live, insurance companies will be able to settle claims of up to Rs. 50,000 for cars and Rs. 1 lakh for property without engaging surveyors.
There are about 11,000 licensed surveyors in India. In the case of motor insurance, surveyors charge Rs. 75010 plus expenses. Fees for the survey in a fire insurance claim start at Rs. 1,500, for fire claims exceeding Rs. 5 crore, surveyors charge Rs. 1.29 lakh plus expenses. Given this statistics, almost half of the surveyors might go out of business if the assessment limits are raised, the proposal may result in night mares to the assessors.
Third-party insurance is purchased by the insured (first party) from an insurance company (second party) for protection against another party’s claims (third party) and the assessor/surveyor is the person who assess the claim notified by the third party.
