Beijing, March 27 (IANS): Chinese insurance companies Thursday said that they have begun paying compensation to the families of passengers aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 that has been declared "lost" even though there is no concrete evidence yet about its fate.

The companies said that they had started the process of paying compensation immediately after Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said Monday that the flight "ended" in the southern Indian Ocean, even though no concrete evidence or full information has supported this conclusion yet, Xinhua reported.

China Life, the country's largest insurance company, said it has 32 clients on board the flight and estimated its total compensation at around 9 million yuan ($1.46 million). The company had paid 4.17 million yuan in compensation to families of seven clients by Tuesday.

"China Life is deeply grieved at the news and will ensure compensation and all other related services are fully implemented," a company spokesman said.

Shanghai-based China Pacific Insurance said that as of Wednesday it had offered its first compensation payment worth 525,000 yuan.

Meanwhile, Sunshine Insurance said that it has compensated 500,000 yuan for a family of three, who were all on board the flight. The compensation stemmed from welfare insurance that his employer offered him, the insurer said.

New China Life Insurance estimated its compensation will go up to 1 million yuan for its nine clients on board the flight.

Tuo Guozhu, a professor at the School of Insurance and Economics under the Capital University of Economics and Business, said passengers will have access to three kinds of compensation, including those paid by airline companies, personal accident insurance, and other life insurance that carries compensation liability for deaths.