The main professional representative body for insurance companies will try to measure the extent of the damage, in an archipelago where very few inhabitants are insured.
How can we measure the extent of the destruction? The professional federation of insurers indicates on Wednesday that it will send a joint reconnaissance mission to all the insurers concerned on the island of Mayotte. His role? Anticipate the management of claims declarations, knowing that, according to the administration, very few households are actually insured.
“We have decided to activate our exceptional system dedicated to the management of large-scale events, which provides for the urgent dispatch to the site of a joint reconnaissance mission for all the insurers concerned”indicated Florence Lustman, president of France Assureurs, quoted in a press release. While it is too early to estimate the number and cost of losses due to the passage of the cyclone, “the insurers concerned are already fully mobilized to support their policyholders”individuals or businesses.
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6% of households insure their home
According to a report from the general inspection of services dating from 2020, “only 6% of households insure their home” in Mayotte, the poorest department in France. As is often the case in exceptional circumstances, “insurers have also decided to extend the claims reporting period beyond the legal deadline of 30 days to extend it to 45 days”adds France Assureurs.
The reconnaissance mission must allow “to immediately have a precise vision of the situation to anticipate the management of disasters”. Concretely, the profession, in agreement with the Federation of Expertise Companies (FSE), will very quickly send on site a few experts with a mission letter from France Assureurs to carry out an initial assessment of the damage, assures the text.
100,000 inhabitants without housing
Tropical cyclone Chido hit the island of Mayotte with gusts observed at more than 220 km/h, causing very significant material damage. Schools and many homes were destroyed. Some 100,000 inhabitants are now without housing, or a third of the population. The road, drinking water and electricity networks are also seriously disrupted, according to France Assureurs. The absolute priority is therefore the supply of water and food to the inhabitants, as well as security (clearing, sending stocks of tarpaulins) and the protection of property, since certain sites are already the subject of looting, adds the federation .
The insurer Groupama noted that its policyholders “are ready to declare their claims but encounter difficulties due to lack of network or electricity. We will be able to generalize videos for individuals as soon as the network is restored”he told AFP. Teams are in place in Reunion to receive calls, while waiting for the safety of the group’s 12 employees located in Mayotte, one of whom has still not given any news, according to Groupama. Groupama is also starting to make fund transfers, particularly for its policyholders who have had to leave their homes and “need to buy back the essentials”. The insurer has also set up a psychological unit for its customers, “with video consultations (doctors and psychologists)”.
