In the context of insurance, what happens in the aftermath of natural calamities like the Republic Day earthquake?
When houses, workplaces, shops are laid to waste in seconds, it is virtually impossible to find insurance documents of victims (read policy-holders), more so when even clearing the rubble to rescue survivors is proving a task beyond everyone. So the survivors are left with no other alternative but to turn to the insurers themselves for details. Thanks to the recent computerisation drives of insurance companies, it just may be possible to retrieve a large amount of data. We believe divisional offices maintain computerised data of hundreds of branches. So, even if branch buildings in the seismic zone are affected, detailed information can still be retrieved. If the relatives/family members can establish their identity and bona fides, it may just make things that much easier for insurance companies to settle claims. In the age of the Internet, some of the places to search for information may be Web-based e-mails. Maybe the victims had mentioned their insurance policies, in whatever contex
