Dubai, UAE: The significant damages caused to vehicles and properties in the UAE following the unprecedented heavy rains mid-April, has been a watershed moment for the insurance industry in the country to adapt an emphatic and highly supportive approach with exceptional measures to assist people who are going through difficult times.

Watania Takaful, one of the leading Islamic insurance providers in the UAE, are efficiently addressing the issue by putting in place exceptional measures to settle claims faster for customers whose vehicles or properties have been damaged by the unusual heavy rains.

The company set up a Command Centre with extra resources to handle the higher-than-average volume of motor and property claims with 3 times more claims received within the first few days after the rains. The exceptional measures are underpinned by a significantly simplified claims process which requires the policyholder to send a single email with the essential information only to submit a claim. The dedicated extended claims teams would assess efficiently all submissions received to settle valid claims of up to AED100,000 within tighter timeframes from 1 to 5 days, to ensure customers receive the support they need at the earliest possible.

Gautam Datta, Chief Executive, Watania Takaful, said: “The unusual heavy rains that took place in mid-April in the UAE have severely affected residents with many experiencing significant damage to their vehicles and properties. This has led to a steep rise in requests for support and claims which is challenging the entire insurance supply chain from roadside assistance and recovery services to surveyors, repair workshops, contractors and insurance companies.

This is exactly the approach we have taken at Watania Takaful to help our customers in every way we can and support them to get their lives back to normal. As a result, our customers can send a single email with the essential documents and the dedicated teams will promptly assess the situation, arrange for necessary repairs, or process the applicable financial settlement to alleviate the burden on customers.

Since the 15th of April, we have received almost 1,000 rain-related claims across technical and motor Takaful insurance as well as an increase of 40% in the average daily calls from customers inquiring about rains related claims. Whilst delays may be inevitable when addressing the higher volume of calls and claims, our Command Centre is on hand to handle their inquiries and settle all valid claims within one to five days from the date of agreement to settlement, to alleviate the burden on our customers as much and as quickly as we can.”