Insurance Companies Begin Partial Payouts After Tinkune Incident, Majority Yet to Compensate

Kathmandu — Insurance companies have begun releasing payments to cover damages from the Tinkune incident that struck Kathmandu Valley on Chaitra 15 (March 28). According to the Nepal Insurance Authority, a total of Rs 45.96 million in claims have been submitted to non-life insurance companies as of Baisakh 3 (April 16). However, only a small portion of Rs 3.35 million has been paid out so far.

Only four insurance companies have made payments on 13 claims till date. The majority of the payouts of Rs 3.24 million have been made under property insurance, followed by Rs 92,000 under private motor insurance and Rs 1,130 under miscellaneous categories.

Shikhar Insurance emerged as the most efficient among the companies, paying out 100 percent of the five claims it received, totaling Rs 498,213. Siddhartha Premier Insurance made the highest total payout of Rs 2.607 million, out of the Rs 7.67 million claimed through eight submissions. Meanwhile, Sagarmatha Lumbini Insurance has paid Rs 202,000, though it had received seven claims worth Rs 7.549 million. IGI Prudential Insurance, which had received claims worth Rs 1.738 million, has so far disbursed only Rs 28,300.

Despite these early efforts, eight insurance companies have yet to process any payouts. The state-owned Rastiya Beema Company leads in terms of claim volume, having received two major claims amounting to Rs 12.7 million. It has, however, not made any payments so far.

Other insurers such as Neco Insurance, The Oriental Insurance, Nepal Insurance, Prabhu Insurance, and Himalayan Everest Insurance have also received substantial claims, ranging from a few million to over Rs 8 million, but have not issued any compensation as yet. IGI Prudential Insurance, although having disbursed a partial amount, also falls in this category of delayed settlement.