北京暴雨过后车主索赔困难

Like many car owners in Beijing, Liu Fang's filed a claim with his auto insurance company for damages to his vehicle which was waterlogged during the torrential rainstorm that pounded the capital last Saturday. Liu had purchased comprehensive auto coverage but was informed by company management that the insurer did not cover waterlogged cars. Liu believes the insurance company should compensate him for the engine damage.

"A car's engine is the major part of the vehicle - the most important part. But the insurance doesn't cover the waterlogged engine. This is so unfair."

Currently, most auto insurers in China do not cover water damage claims unless the owner has purchased additional coverage specifically for water damage. They also don't provide reimbursements for repairs if a motorist starts a car's engine when the vehicle is waterlogged.

But few car owners purchase additional water damage insurance, and some insurers don't even provide such optional coverage.

Lu Yan, a manager at the People's Insurance Company of China, explains.

"Comprehensive insurance doesn't cover losses due to waterlogged engines. Only special or additional insurance covering water damage provides reimbursement for such damage. Normally it only charges one hundred to two hundred yuan per car, but few people would purchase the insurance. Only 20 percent of the customers would choose to buy such insurance."

By comparison, insurance companies based in countries like the UK and South Africa usually offer comprehensive car insurance that covers catastrophic storms and flood damage.

According to China's Insurance Regulatory Commission, insurance companies based in Beijing have so far received more than 19-thousand claims worth a total of about 100 million yuan for damage caused by last Saturday's rainstorm.

Li Bin, Assistant to the Director of the Beijing Insurance Bureau, says the local government has urged all insurance companies to process claims around-the-clock every day without any delays.

"We've sent out the urgent notice to all the insurance companies in Beijing. We have asked them to report to us on a daily basis. By noon on July 23rd, the insurers had received nine personal safety-related claims, seven of which were death claims. We also require that all the insurance companies go to the suburban villages to evaluate the damages caused by the storm and compensate insured farmers as soon as possible."

Legal experts on contract law say car owners can also ask for compensation from property management or parking lot management companies if their cars were waterlogged while parked on public parking lots or in parking spots in residential areas.

For CRI, I'm Liu Min.