The Managing Director, Prestige Assurance, Mr. Anand Mittal, has said that the underwriters of the Dana Aircraft that crashed in Iju Ishaga, Lagos in June will commence the payment of the remaining 70 per cent of the insurance claims to the relatives of the victims when they produce letters of Administration.
He said this while speaking on developments relating to the settlement of the insurance claims of relatives of the 153 people on board that died when the plane crashed.
Mittal said, “The remaining seventy per cent of the insurance claims will be paid when the families of the relatives bring their letters of administration.”
He noted that Prestige Assurance, which is the lead underwriter, had earlier commenced the 30 per cent payment to the relatives when the accident happened.
To make it easier and faster for them to get these letters, the managing director said that the Lagos State government was intervening to provide a smooth process for obtaining it.
He said that the 81 relatives have been paid the initial $30,000.
When these documents are produced, he said that the solicitors would verify to ensure that they were genuine and the claims paid to the right beneficiaries.
According to him, when this requirement is met, the reinsurer of the policy in London , will ensure the commencement of 70 per cent claims settlement, either by issuing a single cheque to the claimants or giving two cheques, one to be issued by the local underwriter while the other will be issued by the foreign reinsurer.
When the unfortunate incidence happened, Mittal noted that two crisis management centres were opened, one in Abuja and the other in Lagos , to provide easy assess for relatives to follow necessary procedures.
These centres, he added, were meant to lead the relatives on how to process their insurance claims among other things.
The foreign reinsurer, he noted, also appointed a foreign solicitor abroad, Clyde and Company, to take up the liabilities because such claims were usually settled legally.
Clyde and Company, he added, also appointed a local solicitor, Yomi Oshikoya and Company, to take up liabilities in the country.
