MANILA, Philippines – Insurance companies face at least P11 billion in property claims alone from the devastation brought about by Tropical Storm “Ondoy,” according to the Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association (Pira).

The amount, which does not include life insurance claims, was an “ultraconservative” estimate, said Michael F. Rellosa, vice chair of Pira, the country’s non-life insurance industry association.

The estimate is enormous because the areas most affected by the devastating floods were industrial and commercial rather than agricultural or residential, he said.

“Marikina, Pasig and Cainta [host] many factories that have millions of pesos worth of machinery and equipment. The warehouses were full of stock for the Christmas season,” he said.

The commercial establishments sustained heavy losses in lost inventories, he added.

Claims from water-logged vehicles with “acts of God” coverage could reach P1 billion, said Rellosa, who is also president of Fortune General Insurance Corp.

“Three Pira members that offer motor vehicle insurance with [acts of God coverage] said claims from their clients could reach roughly P300 million,” he said.

Ondoy, which killed 337 people in and around Metro Manila and displaced 4.1 million others two weeks ago was likely the costliest natural disaster to hit the country since the 1991 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, Mario Valedez, another Pira official said.

Rellosa, Valdez and other industry leaders said the industry could well absorb the impact of the disaster and service the claims.

According to Rellosa, the 87 companies that make up Pira had combined net assets of P41.5 billion as of December 2008.

Valdez said the local insurers themselves only carried 10 percent of the risk with 90 percent spread out to local and foreign reinsurance companies.

Standard Insurance Co., the country’s biggest motor vehicle insurer, said it was well prepared to service its clients as Ondoy was a repeat of Typhoon Frank that hit Iloilo in June 2008.

Standard Insurance chairman Ernesto Echauz said that within a week after Ondoy, the company received inquiries from 300 vehicle owners with “acts of God” coverage.

Echauz said holders of such a policy may expect to receive P200,000 for each vehicle.

A major pharmaceutical chain, a tobacco manufacturer and a food processing company were among those hard-hit by the floods, said Valdez.

One Pira member said a claim from one warehouse alone amounted to P200 million while damage to one branch alone of a popular drugstore chain was estimated at P20 million.

Rellosa said processing of claims could take more time than the usual since there were only a few adjustment firms handling the inspection and assessment of damaged properties.

“This calamity is unprecedented in the industry and the magnitude inevitably leads to a bottleneck,” he said.

Still, Adjusters Association president Val Aboy said adjustment firms were taking steps to fast-track the processing of the claims.

No estimate was given for life insurance claims. Officials of the Philippine Life Insurance Association could not be reached for comment.

Senator Aquilino Pimentel said he would move to amend the Insurance Law so that “acts of God,” like floods, quakes and landslides, would be covered by vehicle comprehensive insurance policies.

Comprehensive car insurance policies and even property damage policies do not cover protection from damage caused by so-called “acts of God.”

Pimentel said this was unfair to car and property owners as the recent widespread flooding was also caused by “acts of men, not of God.”

“Why do we blame God for the things that we do in this country?” he said. With AFP and Michael Lim Ubac