Cattle walk ! Erumai on the prowl !!

 

Often people wander aimlessly and without discipline !!

 

Five years ago, people were forced to remain at home.  Animals roamed freely in streets  

ஒரு பூவனத்திலே... சுகம் குலு குலுங்குது. Kazhugu, the raptor !!

 

Roger Marsh and Frank Stewart own a successful motorcycle dealership in San Antonio, Texas. Together with their wives Kelly and Alice, and Kelly's small dog, they leave San Antonio in a recreational vehicle (RV) for a much anticipated ski vacation in Aspen, Colorado. Along the way, they set up camp in a desolate meadow in central Texas, where Roger and Frank race their motorcycles together. Later that night, after their wives retire to the RV, the men witness a human sacrifice by a Satanic cult a short distance from their campsite, across a shallow river. 

After being chased by the Satanists and barely escaping with their lives, they arrive in a small town and report the incident to Sheriff Taylor, who investigates but attempts to convince them that they probably only saw hippies killing an animal. Unbeknownst to the sheriff, Roger steals a sample of dirt stained with the murder victim's blood, intent on delivering it to the authorities in Amarillo, as he became suspicious of being driven to the crime scene without having to offer any directions.  

At the same time, while cleaning, the wives find a cryptic rune pinned to the broken rear window of the RV, and they steal books about occultism from the local library to further research the incident, unaware they're being watched by a man in a red truck. One of the books reveals that the ritual is what Satanists often perform to gain magical powers. As the foursome leaves town, the sheriff notices the red truck that begins to follow the RV, making it clear that he is either aware or part of the Satanic cult. .. .. ..   

 

ஒரு பூவனத்திலே... சுகம் குலு குலுங்குது...

வண்டு தேன் குடிக்குது... மனம் கிளுகிளுங்குது...

மலர் சோலை வண்ணத்திலே...  பல கோடி எண்ணங்களே...

 

என்ற இளையராஜா பாடலை கேட்டு இருப்பீர்கள்.   - ரஜினிகாந்த் நடித்தும், அதிகம் ஓடாத கழுகு என்ற படம்.    கழுகு வேறு, பருந்து வேறு !!  - நம் குடியிருப்பு பகுதிகளில் அதிகம் காணப்படுவது பருந்து தான்.

 

Google image search based on the uploaded image, says that, the bird appears to be a raptor soaring in the sky. The bird shares characteristics with large raptors like the Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax), known for its large size and long, broad wings.   It has dark brown plumage and distinct, spread-out wingtip feathers that resemble "fingers," a feature commonly used to identify eagles. 

கழுகு (eagle) என்பது அக்சிபிட்ரிடே (accipitridae) என்னும் பறவைக் குடும்பத்தைச் சேர்ந்த, வலுவான பெரிய கொன்றுண்ணிப் பறவை ஆகும்.  கழுகுகளில் மொத்தம் 74 இனங்கள் உள்ளன. உலகம் முழுவதும் கழுகுகள் பரவலாகக் காணப்படுகின்றன.  

The wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax), is also known as the eaglehawk.    The wedge-tailed eagle is one of the world's most powerful avian predators. Although a true generalist, which hunts a wide range of prey, including birds, reptiles and, rarely, other taxa, the species is, by and large, a mammal predator.  The species tends to pair for several years, possibly mating for life.  

Kazhugu  written by Panchu Arunachalam and directed by S. P. Muthuraman, starring Rajinikanth, Rati Agnihotri and Sumalatha hit the screens in 1981. The movie which revolved around hypnotism and human sacrifice did not go well with the audience, and it became an average grosser. It was inspired by the 1975 American film Race with the Devil. 

Described at the start, Race with the Devil  released in  1975 was an  American action horror film directed by Jack Starrett, written by Wes Bishop and Lee Frost,  starring Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit, and Lara Parker. This was the second of three films Fonda and Oates would star in together.  Race with the Devil is a hybrid of the horror, action, and car chase genres.

 
Interesting !
 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
12.5.2026

Surveyor role in Claim settlement - Parametric Insurance, what ??

Ever imagined how Claimants feel whether or when their claims would be settled !?  Around two decades ago ! – a Senior Insurance Surveyor while discussing the future of loss assessors went ballistic stating that the demand for the community would only be upward given the increasing penetration of insurance and the increase in no. of Insurance Companies. 

 

Insurance is based on sound tenets… the founding principles are: Utmost Goodfaith, Insurable Interest, Indemnity, Subrogation, Contribution,.. .. …  In property Insurance, there has to be a subject matter and loss or damage to it would form the nuclei. In general,  insurance is against fortuity – something that can occur or not happening and the policy holder standing to lose by its occurrence ~ the avowed principle of indemnity – would respond by placing back the policy holder in the position that one was prior to the loss.   Typically a premium is paid in return for a promise to cover the actual loss incurred of an incident or named peril.  There has to be the subject matter (insured property); incidence of loss / payment is made only after an actual loss assessment. 

Some of these may not be applicable in Liability insurances / Health Insurances  – yet can you think of a situation where Policies pronounce a payment upon a specified occurrence or event – regardless of financial loss and burden of proving such pecuniary  depravity !!!  - and more so such Insurances are operative in India too !!  

These are Parametric solutions  and when  executed as an insurance contract, the policy follows the same accounting rules and principles as any other insurance contract.  Pure parametric covers  provide a pay out of a specified amount upon occurrence of a certain event, regardless of any economic loss sustained by the client. They are generally executed as derivatives. "Hybrid" covers where both a parametric (pre-defined event parameters) and an indemnity condition (proof of loss) must be fulfilled for the policy to trigger a payout. Such covers are structured as insurance contracts. 

Parametric insurance – while a newer concept – is arguably even more simple than traditional commercial property insurance.  It is an agreement to make a payment upon the occurrence of a covered event meeting or exceeding a pre-defined intensity threshold, as measured by an objective value (or parameter – hence the name 'parametric insurance'). 

Parametric insurance is a non-traditional, index-based insurance that pays out a pre-agreed lump sum when a specific, objective trigger event occurs (e.g., hurricane wind speed, earthquake magnitude, rainfall level), rather than indemnifying actual losses. It provides rapid, transparent compensation without requiring loss adjusters, making it ideal for immediate cash needs after disasters.  Instead of proving damage, a payout is triggered by third-party, independent data (eg. Rainfall data or magnitude of earthquake)  of magnitude.  Because the trigger is binary (it happened or it didn't), payout is instant, often within days, removing the long claims adjustment process.     

According to General Insurance Council   - Heatwave Insurance Scheme has been launched by Climate Resilience for All (CRA) and Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA), in which maximum temperature is 40 degrees.  If the temperature is more than 400 degrees Celsius, you will get 400 to 1600 rupees. Two and a half lakh women from Rajasthan, Gujarat, UP, Assam, Jammu Kashmir, Bihar and Maharashtra have been included in the scheme.  If the  temperature   crosses 40 degrees C -    Heatwave Insurance Scheme  will be of great help and support to women who work risking their lives.    On 21 April 2025, Chandrapur in Maharashtra was the hottest. The maximum temperature here reached 45.6 degrees Celsius. There is no hope of relief from the heat even in May-June. That is why now like other countries of the world, parametric insurance has started in India too. 

According to media reports, 'Climate Resilience for All' (CRA) and 'Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA)' together started this scheme as a pilot project in the year 2024. Initially, 50 thousand women from Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra were included in the scheme. Due to different weather in different districts, the payment amount also varies. Now the Heatwave Insurance Scheme has been expanded in the year 2025. It covers 2.5 lakh women from Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra as well as Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir and Bihar. In the year 2024, between 18th to 25th May, when the maximum temperature was recorded above 40 degrees, then under the scheme, 92 percent of the 50 thousand women were given additional insurance payment ranging from Rs 400 to Rs 1600.  

Read about this (curiously in Paki newspaper Dawn) in an article titled - In India, heat-triggered insurance offers 'some relief'.  In parametric insurance, payouts are triggered automatically by heavy rain, high heat or even air pollution.  

Clothes seller Lata Solanki used to face a devastating choice when India’s summer heat hit dangerous levels: risk her health going door-to-door for sales, or lose her income? But now the 42-year-old is part of an insurance scheme that pays out when temperatures hit a threshold, so she can stay home without jeopardising her finances. The “parametric” model pays out automatically when specific triggers are breached, in Solanki’s case after two consecutive days at 43.72 degrees Celsius. In 2023, the year before she joined the scheme, Solanki kept working during a heatwave and ended up sick at home for 20 days, losing at least 2,000 Indian rupees ($21) in income. The following year, she received 750 Indian rupees from the scheme, small but more than the cost of the premium, and a relief rather than going in the heat and risking her health.  

Agriculture and construction bore the brunt of such hot weather, and climate change is accelerating the number of days of extreme heat India sees. In India’s northeastern state of Nagaland, the government has insured its entire population against economic losses due to heavy rainfall under a parametric model since 2024.  The scheme began in 2024 with 26,000 women across Gujarat. Their 354-rupee premium was covered by Climate Resilience for All. In 2025, enrolment rose, but the scheme made no payments because the temperature threshold was not met. This year, the trigger has been revised down to 42.74°C, and the scheme aims to cover more than 30,000 women. If temperatures hit the threshold for two days, they will qualify for payments ranging from 850 to 2,000 Indian rupees ($21).

 

Unlike traditional insurance, parametric policies do not require individual damage assessments. Instead, payouts are triggered automatically by heavy rain, high heat or even air pollution.  In parametric (or index based) insurance, payouts are triggered by a predefined objective parameter (for example, earthquake magnitude, rainfall index, or cyclone wind speed) instead of a detailed assessment of actual physical loss.  Because the contract leans on a proxy event rather than item by item damage, on site loss surveys are usually not required for payout decisions.  

Higher temperatures trigger higher payments, but the amount is a one-off, not cumulative. It is assessed and paid at the end of the heat season in September.  Payment thresholds are set based on historical weather data and intended to be “practical, sustainable and aligned to the intended segment while managing basis risk”.   

Interesting !  ~  since am keeping totally away from Insurance, this sounded new to me …….. what about you !!!

 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
11.5.2026 

namma Madrassu ~ arterial Mount Road

 

Agurchand Mansion, VST and LIC .. .. on Mount Road - 2021