Insurance cos offer no hope

Insurance companies do not offer much hope for victims of Salman Khan’s drunken driving, with officials saying the quantum of compensation would depend on the salary of the victims. Besides, insiders say a third of the compensation is usually siphoned off by lawyers. ‘‘The compulsory third party insurance cover taken by all vehicle owners stipulates compensation to the dead or insured person would depend on the earning loss to victims. Seldom has the compensation exceeded Rs 50,000 in India due to low levels of income,’’ says a National Insurance official.

“‘A victim should consider himself lucky if gets even 50 per cent of the award announced,’’ says R. Shetty, a lawyer. In the Salman case, officials say due to lack of any salary details, compensation by insurance tribunals may not go even beyond Rs 25,000. They can, however, file a case in court for higher compensation which usually ends in an out-of-court settlement.

The maximum award till date — Rs 16 crore — was given to a NRI who died in a road accident in India.

The motor vehicle business is a loss-making one for insurance companies due to high incidence of accidents, fraud, corruption and mismanagement.