Beijing insurance institutions receive 27,400 claims for rain-caused damages

BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- Insurance institutions in Beijing have received 27,400 claims related to rain-caused disasters, of which 42 percent have been settled or compensated in advance, with the total compensation reaching 380 million yuan (about 53 million U.S. dollars), authorities said Thursday.

About half of the claim numbers and the compensation amounts occurred in Fangshan and Mentougou, the districts worst hit by the rains, according to the Beijing branch of the National Financial Regulatory Administration.

As of 10 a.m. Thursday, some 17,000 vehicles have reported claims related to the disasters, and 65 percent have been settled or compensated in advance.

The estimated loss in the city's agricultural insurance sector exceeded 32 million yuan, and the amount of compensation or indemnity paid in advance was 21 million yuan, accounting for 64 percent of the total in the sector.

From July 29 to Aug. 2, Beijing was battered by severe torrential rains triggered by Typhoon Doksuri, leaving 33 people dead and 18 others missing. It was the heaviest rainfall in Beijing since records began 140 years ago.