national

Miyagi has estimated 146,000 damaged vehicles to deal with

15 Comments

The number of vehicles in Miyagi Prefecture damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami has been estimated by the prefectural government at 146,000. The figure accounts for almost 10% of the 1,540,000 registered vehicles in Miyagi Prefecture.

According to a prefectural government spokesman, the figure is based on the average car ownership statistics combined with the number of households in flooded areas.

The prefectural government has announced a plan to assist towns and villages to dispose of the damaged vehicles. Local government officials say they are currently in the process of establishing 15 storage locations for up to 70,000 damaged vehicles. The license plates of the vehicles will be listed and made public on local government web pages so that owners can reclaim their cars. Cars whose ownership cannot be proved will be disposed of, according to Japanese motor vehicle law.

A prefectural government spokesman said that the prefecture is trying to ensure that, in principle, vehicle owners will not have to bear the burden of the cost involved with disposal.

© Compiled from news reports

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

15 Comments
Login to comment

More than likely most people do not have auto insurance that covers damage due to tsunami (does it exist on regular coverage, "act of gods"?). If one were to claim one's trashed automobile, wouldn't it then become the responsibility of the owner to pay for destruction? Who would want to bother doing that?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"A prefectural government spokesman said that the prefecture is trying to ensure that, in principle, vehicle owners will not have to bear the burden of the cost involved with disposal."

I should hope so.

TheBigRiceBowl: From what I've heard from friends in the area a lot of insurance companies are not processing claims, stating that they have disaster coverage but it's limited to earthquakes and fires, etc., but not including tsunami.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Smith - So that would mean that the owners would not be able to collect on their insurance policies, I guess.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I was in Sendai and Tagajo last week transporting relief supplies... by the looks of it, none of the cars swept by tsunami will ever be drivable. Some of them were trashed beyond belief. It's hard to believe water can do so much damage. I also noticed some people walking from car to car with a gas can and hose... Looking ahead though, I would think the used car market is going to boom in Miyagi in the near future.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Too bad the tax office went nuts on a bunch of car traders, parts guys who shipped this stuff to developing countries, they are going to need them to help deal with all this

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I see china frothing at the mouth for all the scrap. could mean billions, but who would profit.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Salt water damaged vehicles are no good for anything, they are already rusting and will decay very quickly now.

The electrics will be history too, these things are not even any good to be broken down for spare parts, they can only be crushed for scrap metal.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

TheBigRiceBowl: "Smith - So that would mean that the owners would not be able to collect on their insurance policies, I guess."

Correct you are. It's a very sticky situation; companies seem to be searching for loopholes to avoid massive payouts. What does someone do whose house was destroyed/damaged by the quake but later swept away by the tsunami? There's absolutely no way of proving what happened. Despite the government more or less promising they would make up for any shortfalls or lack of money from insurance companies, I just don't see how they're going to cover the costs.

No one should have to pay for their vehicle to be destroyed given what's happened, and how would some people pay anyway if they have nothing left?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

smithinjapan: Japanese government said they will assume some of the insurance costs. It was in an article last week on JT I think. The thing you can be certain of is that they will find loopholes to not pay. I hate insurance companies.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Insurance is for pesimists anyway !!!

Bout time the insurance companies got screwed to the wall too !! They been screwing everyone else for decades !!!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

If anyone is aware of how a vehicle can be donated for victims, please post information to this forum.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It's a very sticky situation; companies seem to be searching for loopholes to avoid massive payouts.

No they are not. Instead of inspecting each houses, they are taking aerial shots and declaring the entire area to be "damaged completely"

日本損害保険協会は、東日本大震災で壊滅的打撃を受けた地域に地震保険金を迅速に支払うため、航空写真や衛星写真を使って被害を確認し保険金が原則100%支払われる「全損」に認定することを決めた。航空写真による全損認定は初....

広範囲にわたる被災地での調査を効率化することで、従来1~2週間かかっていた保険金の支払いを早めたい考えだ。「全損」の認定地域に住宅がある保険契約者は、現地調査なしで保険金が満額(ただし住宅の時価が上限)支払われる。

Imagine that. By doing this, they estimated the claims/payments to be faster than the 1~2 week period normally associated with processing claims.

大手損害保険グループ・NKSJホールディングスの佐藤正敏社長は30日までに産経新聞の取材に応じ、東日本大震災を受けた同社グループの態勢について「(損害調査やコールセンターに)2000人以上を増員する。契約者になるべく早く保険金を支払いたい」と述べた。

NKSJ Holdings announced the increase of 2000 staffs for their calling center. The president stated that "We want to pay our customers' claims as soon as possible".

What does someone do whose house was destroyed/damaged by the quake but later swept away by the tsunami?

From 損保Japan

Q:地震保険では地震による津波の損害は補償されますか?

Does earth quake insurance cover damages caused by Tsunami?

A: 地震保険では、津波による損害は地震同様、補償の対象となります。詳しい補償内容は以下のページをご覧ください。

As with damages to earthquake itself, the earthquake coverage does indeed cover Tsunami.

From what I've heard from friends in the area a lot of insurance companies are not processing claims, stating that they have disaster coverage but it's limited to earthquakes and fires, etc., but not including tsunami.

You've "heard from friends in the area"..

Moderator: Back on topic please. This story is about damaged vehicles.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

nigelboy, what you write is for one insurance company and for buildings. Are you sure that it applies to all companies and cars?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I would not hold my breath until the check is in the hand or direct deposit to the bank account is confirmed.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

nigelboy, what you write is for one insurance company and for buildings. Are you sure that it applies to all companies and cars?

As for buildings, if the insured bought the earthquake rider, damages to tsunami are covered. Due to the possibility of enormous payout, the government act as a guarantor for all claim payments.

As for cars, there is a supplemental coverage by certain insurance companies that covers such natural disasters but in pricipal, majority does not.

Sorry for not being clear for I was responding to smith's post which clearly talked about homeowners insurance.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites