China Eastern Airlines crash: hopes lost, compensation process begins
- No survivors among the 132 people on board have been found since Monday’s tragedy
- Insurers have been told to spare no effort in helping families with their claims
On Tuesday, China’s top insurance regulator called on the industry to make an all-out effort to help families with their insurance claims.
A total of 21 insurers have also launched their own investigations and are taking part in search and rescue operations, according to the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.
The amount of compensation paid out to families is likely to be higher than the country’s legally obligated range of up to 400,000 yuan (US$62,800) per victim.
This maximum was raised from 70,000 yuan in 2006, but the amount has still been widely criticised for being too low and failing to reflect inflation and income levels.
In practice, airlines have generally paid out more.
The last fatal crash in China was in 2010, when a Henan Airlines Embraer jet carrying 96 passengers crashed in Yichun in Heilongjiang province in northeast China.
In all, 44 people died and another 52 were injured. The compensation for each deceased victim amounted to about 960,000 yuan, a new benchmark for the time.
