There are a total of 10,46,163 motor accident claims pending in the country, amounting to Rs 80,455 crore. The number of such claims has been continuously increasing from 2018-19 to 2022-23, as revealed through the information obtained through the RTI Act. These details were shared by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) in response to a query filed by Supreme Court advocate KC Jain in April.
Jain submitted a query to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to inquire about the total number of pending motor accident claims in the country, including state and district specific details.
He also wanted to understand the yearly distribution of claims filed, resolved and pending over the past five years. Additionally, he inquired about the steps taken by the Centre to expedite the resolution of motor accident claims.
As per the information provided by IRDAI, the number of pending claims due to road accidents at the end of financial years 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 was 9,09,166, 9,39,160 and 10,08,332,39,323 and 10,46,163 respectively. The corresponding claim amounts were INR 52,713 crore, INR 61,051 crore, INR 70,722 crore, INR 74,718 crore and INR 80,455 crore.
On regional-level breakup of information, the IRDAI stated, IRDAI stated that “details related to district and status of third party motor vehicle claims are not available with IRDAI as such accurate information is not collected or maintained by IRDAI.”
The Agra-based lawyer cited data and mentioned that the number of pending claims increases every year. In addition, there is a delay in the processing of claims from relatives of those who died and those injured in traffic accidents.
The road safety activist also raised concerns over the " snail pace" of claim settlements, estimating that it takes an average of four years for a victim to receive financial help.
“If we look at the pace of claim settlements, the number of pending cases at the beginning of the financial year 2022-2023 was 10,39,323, and the number of new complaints received this year was 4,54,944. of claims and the number of pending claims reached 14,94,267,” he added. Only 4,48,104 cases were resolved, which represents only 29% of the total cases, therefore, on an average, it is estimated that it takes four years to decide a claim," he said."
Jain has filed an interlocutory application in the Supreme Court on a civil writ petition for inordinate delay in disposal of motor accident claims. He is demanding the formulation of an interim payment scheme by the central government under section 164A of the Motor Vehicles Act to provide relief to victims of road accidents.
" It is suggested that this amount be at least INR 500,000 for fatal cases and INR 250,000 for It is suggested that this amount be at least, based on no-fault liability under section 164 of the MV Act," he added.
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