(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-03-27 16:26

LHASA - A Chinese insurer is ready to compensate life and property losses incurred from the latest Lhasa riots.

Officials from the Tibetan branch of the People's Insurance Co. (Group) of China (PICC) said the company had received 80 claims for compensation worth at least 3.19 million yuan (more than US$454,000).

The claims include one injury, 19 burnt vehicles and 57 cases of damage to other autos, and three claims on property, according to the company.

Other Chinese insurance companies were also in the process of investigating clients' compensation requests arising from the unrest, in which rioters killed at least 18 civilians, injured 623 people, set fire to more than 300 locations, mostly private houses, shops and schools, smashed vehicles, and damaged public facilities..

Financial outlets in Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in China's remote southwest, have gradually resumed services since March 16, two days after the violence broke out.