Earthquake/Insurance: The process gets off to a slow start

While waiting for the disaster zones to be specified in a decree from the Head of Government, the Moroccan Federation of Insurance Companies is inviting people insured under the compulsory catastrophic events coverage scheme to contact their brokers or insurance companies, as the number of contracts giving entitlement to compensation is large since the cover is included in several insurance policies (www.leconomiste.com).

These include insurance contracts covering property damage and civil liability for bodily injury or material damage caused to third parties by a land motor vehicle. Added to this are insurance contracts covering civil liability for bodily injury caused to third parties, other than the insured’s employees, on the premises of s company. In any case, the regions hardest hit by the earthquake are known to be heavy users of mopeds.

In principle, the procedure can take up to 131 days. The insured must notify his or her insurer no later than 20 days after the occurrence of the event, unless it is absolutely impossible to do so. The victim will then have to express a claim to the insurer according to a pre-established model (Order of the Minister of Finance no. 2214-19 of December 27, 2019). A list of documents enabling the insurance company to identify the victims, their insurance policies and assess compensation is required.

Subsequently, the insurer is required to notify the claimant, by registered letter, within 60 days of receipt of the claim, of the amount of compensation. The claimant must inform the insurer of his or her agreement or refusal within 30 days of receipt of the proposal. In the event of agreement, the indemnity or advance is paid within 21 days.

Coverage includes bodily injury suffered by the driver and any person carried in the insured vehicle, as well as damage suffered by their dependents as a result of their death, when the damage is the direct result of a catastrophic event affecting the insured vehicle.

Damage to the insured vehicle is also covered. Where the vehicle owner is a natural person, the cover also extends to bodily injury suffered by the vehicle owner, his or her spouse and dependent children, as well as damage suffered by their dependents as a result of their death. Dependent children must be self-employed and be no more than 21-year-old on the date of the catastrophic event. This age limit is extended to 26 in the case of duly justified studies. Disabled persons are also considered dependent children. Damage to the insured vehicle is also covered.

Khadija MASMOUDI