SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 26 May. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Director of Operations of the Insurance Compensation Consortium, Alejandro Izuquiza, reported this Thursday in the Parliament of the Canary Islands that the body has received a total of 7,768 applications for compensation for the volcanic eruption of La Palma and 199 have already been paid, 1 million.
In an appearance at the parliamentary commission on the reconstruction of the island, he said that they continue to receive proposals “every day” and it is unpredictable “to see the end”, since in just one month more than 1,400 have been received, something he has branded as “unusual”.
He commented that the Consortium estimates that the total cost of the compensation will be around 228 million, for which 57% has already been covered, emphasizing that what remains pending are new areas that are being opened and have damage or others linked to the cleaning of ashes, which are of lower economic cost.
Izuquiza has pointed out that some requests are not admitted because the goods were not insured seven days before the eruption and detailed that most of the claims come from the affected municipalities such as Los Llanos de Aridane, El Paso and Tazacorte, to which add the ash damage in Santa Cruz de La Palma, Mazo, Breña Alta or Fuencaliente.
He specified that the consortium comes into play in the face of “extraordinary” risks such as an eruption, giving as an example that the Lorca earthquake involved the payment of more than 500 million in compensation and that in September several floods and the eruption coincided, which jointly affected more 42,000 people at a cost of 430 million.
He has said that they are “experts in natural disasters” but has admitted that it is the “first experience” with an eruption and it is being “unique” for the team of 40 experts in charge of assessing the damage.
In this line, he has indicated that there are “special difficulties because many properties are not registered, the rustic properties are and the adjoining houses are not or were not insured and there have been “problems” in locating the owners because they live abroad or because there are multiple owners.
He has stressed that the work of the experts has been “detective” because on many occasions they have not been able to see the affected properties and have had to use photos, data from the cadastre or Grafcan funds, which has made the investigation “more expensive”. processing of files.
MORE THAN A HUNDRED DIFFICULT RECORDS
However, he has guaranteed that “every last” of the documents will be studied and although there are “hard bones to crack” he has said that he is negotiating with the administrations to give “advances” to those affected if the damage cannot be determined.
Izuquiza has identified more than a hundred such files related to properties that cannot be accessed because of the lava but an item is paid for uninhabitability and advances are prepared.
It has clarified that compensation is not denied due to lack of insurance, but that the “delays” are due to the difficulty in recognizing property titles and guarantees that the Consortium has “financial spring” to face compensation even if it exceeds the 228 million that are provisioned .
On whether home insurance should be mandatory, as is the case with cars, he understands that it is not a similar case because there is no liability for damages to third parties while “experience” says that when you go through a catastrophe Property insurance increases.
