Large parts of the fire-razed Kandawgyi Palace Hotel, one of Yangon’s most iconic buildings, have been classified as being 100% burnt down and insurance claims were set to be paid last month.
The hotel, owned by U Tayza’s Htoo Group, was destroyed by a fire in the early hours of 19 October.
The Htoo Group bought insurance worth almost MMK1.5 billion (US$1.1 million) for the hotel. Two policies worth MMK855 million and MMK75 million were from state-controlled Myanma Insurance while a third policy, worth MMK523 million, was from private insurer Aung Thitsar Oo Co.
After inspection, it was found that the buildings for which insurance was bought from Myanma Insurance had been completely burnt down while those covered by Aung Thitsar Oo Co had been partially affected from the fire, U Lwin Oo, Deputy General Manager from Myanma Insurance, told The Myanmar Times.
Htoo Group was therefore entitled to indemnities from Myanma Insurance while it would not claim compensation from Aung Thitsar Oo Co.
Burnt-down big teak pillars are useless but remnants like nails, nuts, bolts and broken bricks can be sold and value has to be calculated and deducted from the claims, one official from Myanma Insurance’s fire and engineering insurance section said.
Built in the early 1990s, the high-end hotel was constructed mostly with teak wood and decorated with traditional handicraft. Police said that the fire was caused by faulty electrical wiring. Of the hotel’s 185 rooms, 140 were destroyed. Two foreign tourists died in the fire and two others were seriously injured.
This was the largest fire disaster involving a hotel in the 60 years since the state-owned Myanma Insurance has been in business. A