Most of the claims came from the Uttarakhand floods, cyclones Hudhud, Fani and Phailin, and the Chennai and Kerala floods.The floods have caused widespread damage to properties and lives in the states of Bihar, Assam, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, among others.“Besides Kerala, other states have also faced similar widespread damages, which are main concerns for insurers, too. Though some relief works are still under way and several instructions have been given to lessen losses, we are still waiting to assess the final claims from all claim offices across the country.Keeping the flood scenario in many parts of the country, recently the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) advised insurance companies to expedite claim settlement.”.New Delhi: With floods playing havoc in many states, insurers are likely to take a hit of over Rs 1,000 crore from unforeseen claims.The state-owned Oriental Insurance Company (OIC) has received 400 claims from Kerala alone, worth around Rs 40 crore, while the insurance industry has received about 2,500 claims worth over Rs 240 auto bearings Suppliers crore from the southern most state, the officials said. However, we are expecting a total over 10,000 claims, amounting to more than Rs 1,000 crore from across country,” they said. Besides, flood damage has also been sounded from parts of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and Uttar Pradesh.As heavy rainfall continues to ravage large parts of the country, the southern states of Karnataka and Kerala are now dealing with the post-destruction phase while the northern parts of India is bracing for the worst.Two senior officials of a public sector insurance company said the industry expects as many as 10,000 floods-related claims.As of August 19, at least 40 people have reportedly died, over 20 missing and properties worth crores have been damaged in northern states, including Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Punjab.A senior official in a private general insurer said, “In the last five years, losses due to natural calamities have led to insured losses of almost Rs 25,000 crore.

It said the monsoon was hovering over Maharashtra in the west and parts of Odisha, West Bengal and Assam in east and northeast India.New Delhi: Heavy rainfall on Saturday battered the north-eastern states, where at least 17 people have died in flash floods and landslides, with the southwest monsoon extending its reach in the region, Odisha and parts of West Bengal.A few places in western and eastern Uttar Pradesh are likely to experience rain or thunderstorm on Sunday, the MeT department in Lucknow said. Widespread rainfall lashed parts of Himachal Pradesh, settling the dust particles in the air. Rainfall in parts of Punjab and Haryana, including Chandigarh, cleared the haze blanket, while flight operations hit in the two states due to low-visibility resumed on Saturday. Civil construction activities have been ordered suspended until tomorrow. The STR, spread over an area of 2,750 sq km, attracts thousands of domestic and foreign tourists because of its varied flora and fauna, including the Black Melanistic Royal Bengal Tiger, and breathtaking waterfalls.According to Assam State Disaster Management Authority, four people lost their lives in flood and landslide related incidents during the past 24 hours. One person died in Mizoram.Odisha is reeling under sweltering heat with nine places including the state capital recording temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, despite the onset of the monsoon in the state.The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) daily report predicted light rainfall for Sunday in Delhi, which is still reeling under a haze of dust brought by winds from Rajasthan which has raised the air pollution level to "severe".Dust storms this week in western India have led to a thick  transmision system bearing haze and increased the presence of ultra-fine pollutants in the air in the Delhi-NCR region.The visibility, however, remained poor due to mist but was expected to improve by Sunday, Manmohan Singh, the director of the local Met office, said.The day temperature was above the normal in Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur and Moradabad divisions.The weatherman has forecast light rainfall for Sunday, which should settle the toxic dust particles in the air.The total number of people dead in the northeast has risen to 17, officials said.In Odisha, the Similipal Tiger Reserve (STR) was closed for visitors from Saturday in view of the monsoon. The rainfall brought cheers to paddy growers, readying their fields for transplanting paddy.Also read: Air quality in Delhi sees improvement, still in ‘severe’ categoryThe dust storm in Rajasthan on Saturday led to the cancellation of a Bikaner-New Delhi flight. Troops respond to a distress call to rescue over 800 marooned people flood affected areas..The maximum temperature dropped by a few notches after rainfall in the two states.The weatherman forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places in Konkan and Goa and heavy rain at some places in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Meghalaya, sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, Madhya Maharashtra and coastal Karnataka on Sunday.The Odisha government also extended the summer vacation in schools by three days owing to the intense heat, a state education department official said in Bhubaneswar.In Delhi, the air pollution situation improved when compared to a day before, but it remained "severe". Any further advance of the monsoon is unlikely during next 6-7 days due to the prevalence of a weak pattern.The IMD said dust storm or thunderstorm is "very likely" at a few places over Rajasthan.

Tral is very tense and people are out on the streets chanting slogans in praise of Sabzar and for freedom,” said Zubair Ahmed Dar, a reporter over the phone from Tral.At most places, the traders have brought their shutters down and vehicles are being withdrawn in a chaotic situation.In a separate incident, six infiltrating militants were killed in a clash with Army troops in Uri sector of the Line of Control (LoC) in Baramulla district.. The incident comes a day after the Army had said it stopped an infiltration attempt backed by the Pakistan army along the de facto border by killing two intruders believed to be the members of a Pakistan army’s Border Action Team (BAT). Amid heightening tensions and clashes, the authorities have suspended Internet services partially to restrain the “spread of rumours” and use of social media to provoke violence.One of the seriously injured persons has been referred to a Srinagar hospital for specialised treatment, doctors at the district hospital said. Jammu and Kashmir’s Director General of Police, Shesh Paul Ved, confirmed that Bhat is among the two militants killed, so far.Bhat had succeeded Burhan Wani, the popular Internet-savvy commander of Kashmir’s frontline indigenous militant outfit, whose killing by security forces on July 8 last year had resulted in massive violence in the Kashmir Valley. Clashes between irate crowds of youth and the security forces have been reported also from encounter site in Tral’s Saimu village. The police and the CRPF are facing a tough time to deal with the situation at places, said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.“We were not allowed to go close to the encounter site by the security forces.Spontaneous clashes erupted in several parts of the Valley after the news of Bhat’s killing spread.Also, over 4,000 security personnel were injured in stone-pelting  auto parts bearings incidents and mob violence.The suspension of the Internet came a day after the State government lifted a month-long ban on, at least, 22 social networking websites. The areas elsewhere in the Valley that have witnessed protests and clashes fall in the districts of Pulwama, Shopian, Anantnag, Srinagar, Baramulla and Kupwara.The students of various educational institutions across the Valley left their classes midway and taken to the streets at many places yelling pro-freedom slogans.The police also said the civilian was killed in the crossfire between militants and security forces in Tral.Five people were injured in security forces’ action against the protesters, the reports said.In the five-month long turbulence, more than 80 civilians and two policemen had died and thousands injured, mainly in security forces’ firings and other actions besides leaving behind trails of destruction of infrastructure.The officials in Srinagar said that the firefight began in Tral’s Saimu village after the security forces laid siege to it on learning about the presence of militants.Violence erupted in several parts of the valley as the news about Bhat’s killing spread.Srinagar: One civilian was killed and 19 were injured in the firing between security forces and militants at Tral, after violence erupted following the death of Burhan Wanis successor Sabzar Ahmed Bhat on Saturday. Media persons have been denied access to the encounter site, reports said. Six policemen were also injured due to stone peltingEarlier on Saturday, Sabzar Ahmed Bhat, a top commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, killed along with one accomplice in a fierce gunfight with security forces in Kashmir’s southern Tral region.The other slain militant along with Bhat was identified as Faizan Ahmed.A report from Anantnag said that at least 35 injured persons were admitted to the district hospital following clashes occurred in different parts of Anantnag town and its neighbourhood.According to hospital sources, six people received bullet injuries while the rest were wounded by pellets. More than 50 people have been injured in clashes underway in different parts of the south, central and north Kashmir, and Srinagar.