TIANJIN, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- More than 8.1 billion yuan (about 1.2 billion U.S. dollars) of insurance claims related to two huge explosions in Tianjin had been settled as of the end of 2016, said Tianjin Bureau of China Insurance Regulatory Commission Tuesday.
Two warehouse explosions rocked Tianjin on Aug. 12, 2015, claiming 165 lives. The blasts led to one of the most costly catastrophe claims for the Chinese insurance sector in years.
By the end of last year, over 6,000 insurance claims were settled. The total settlement amount is expected to exceed 10 billion yuan, the bureau said.
Auto makers and dealers who had warehouses close to the blast site were among the most affected.
China Automobile Trading lost 3,000 imported vehicles in the blasts, the biggest single loss, the bureau said. China Continent Insurance paid 1.73 billion yuan (266 million dollars) to the company in January 2016.
"Many of the bigger cases were settled in 2016. Smaller claims will be settled one by one," said Zhang Zhihuai, deputy director of Tianjin Insurance Association.
A total of 101 insurance organizations were involved in emergency response after the blast, Zhang said.
