Did You Know? - The Importance of BMKG Reports in Submission of Property Insurance Claims

In submitting a general insurance claim, the Insured must submit several requirements according to the agreement stated in the policy contract. In order for the submission of a claim to be approved immediately, these requirements must be immediately submitted by the Insured to the insurance company completely and factually. These requirements usually include evidence of loss, such as photographs, certificates or minutes of the loss, contract agreement/insurance policy, identity of the policyholder, and other supporting documents.

For more specific types of losses, insurance companies will usually require documents issued by certain institutions or legal entities that are competent and authorized to strengthen the Insured's information regarding the facts that occurred. For example, losses due to natural disasters/Acts of God such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, whirlwinds, storms, typhoons, and landslides are guaranteed in property policies. The said report will specifically be issued by the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency or Badan Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika (BMKG).

BMKG is a government agency that has the task and function of conveying information and early warnings to relevant agencies and parties as well as the public regarding disasters due to meteorological, climatological, and geophysical factors. Even though current information related to natural disasters from various media is very sophisticated and updated, the data is usually not as complete and scientific as the reports published by BMKG. BMKG reports generally contain information about weather conditions and information about rain potential and wind conditions on specific dates, times, and coordinates.

For example, for the causes of cyclones, hurricanes, and typhoons, referring to the definition of the Movable Property All Risk (MPAR) policy wording, it is stated that the minimum wind speed included in the category is 30 (thirty) knots. Meanwhile, the information presented by the media generally only reports on hurricane/hurricane events in an area without information on wind speed figures. Another example is the cause of loss due to flooding, one of the flood categories covered by the MPAR policy is those caused directly by rain. When submitting a claim due to this condition, a BMKG report will be needed to see the rain intensity in the area.

There are several alternative references that can be used to support the fact that a natural disaster/Act of God occurred as a cause of loss, but generally insurance companies in Indonesia use the BMKG Report. Requests for BMKG reports can be obtained at the Pelayanan Terpadu Satu Pintu (PTSP), on the bmkg.go.id, website and estimated costs can be seen at https://www.bmkg.go.id/profile/?p=ptsp.

Hopefully, the information above can enrich your understanding of the essential documents that must be prepared when submitting a claim for property insurance. If you require additional information about insurance products from MSIG Indonesia, please contact us at 021 – 2523110 and we will be pleased to assist you.