Standard Insurance to repair 350 typhoon-damaged cars for free

Standard Insurance Co. will repair 350 vehicles damaged by two typhoons for free even without an “act of God" coverage, its president said. Under its plan, the company will tow customers’ damaged vehicles to its accredited repair shops and seek estimates so that the cars can be repaired wholesale.

Costs of repairing all 350 vehicles – estimated at P70 million – will be covered by the company, Standard Insurance Co. president Ernesto Echauz said at a recent public forum. Echauz made this gesture “as a sign of goodwill to loyal clients and to friends in the banking community" who have helped the company earn more business. It will make good business sense because in the process the company generates goodwill, Echauz added. Repairing damaged cars will give more financial leeway to car owners, especially those who acquired their vehicles through bank loans. As a result, instead of merely abandoning their vehicles, owners will be encouraged to keep on paying for their car loans, which will also benefit banks. “The banks would be happy endorsing us to future car buyers," Echauz said. The cars will be repaired at an average cost of P200,000 each even if the owners have chosen insurance contracts without “acts of God" (AOG) coverage. Generally excluded from all insurance policies, AOG coverage is considered too expensive for average vehicle owners since this includes paying for calamities such typhoons, flooding, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, among others. Only 30,000 of its 300,000 insured motor vehicles in Metro Manila have AOG cover, Echauz said. In the meantime, of all insured motor vehicles in the Philippines, only 25 percent have AOG coverage, the 87-member Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (PIRA) earlier said. - GMANews.TV