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THE
Insurance Commission (IC) has accredited a number of
insurers for domestic-passenger vessels in line with the
Maritime Industry Authority’s (Marina) new insurance
program.
In an
interview, IC deputy commissioner Vida Chiong said the
commission had approved the industry authority’s new
insurance program and that the accreditation of
insurance firms remains the commission’s responsibility.
“As much
as possible, we would like to have free competition for
as long as…[the insurance companies] are
qualified…[within the bounds of] the law. Maybe during
the initial months we have only approved only four, but
almost all that applied to us [for accreditation were
approved],” Chiong said.
“The
only limit that we gave… [applicant firms] is…[for them
to] have the capability. So only those who…[are
licensed] can offer the service,” she added.
Marina
administrator Vicente Suazo earlier said they had long
settled the issue on passenger insurance, which his
agency has revamped and aligned to fit the provisions of
the Domestic Shipping Development Act, or RA 9295, since
they will have no hand in the accreditation process.
About
two years ago, Suazo was criticized for saying he wanted
a maximum of two insurance groups, which include
state-owned Government Service Insurance System, to
handle all insurance needs of the domestic shipping
industry.
He said
the move is intended to streamline the insurance process
for the shipping industry and eliminate the
participation of fly-by-night operators. Suazo shelved
the idea after insurance firms claimed the formula
favored only a number of companies, and asked the
commission to resolve the issue.
Marina
had to change the way domestic vessels go about the
insurance of cargo and passenger. “If a domestic ship
operator should operate more than one vessel, the amount
of insurance coverage required under this
section...shall be the amount equivalent to the total
number of passenger accommodations, or total cargo
capacity, or both, of the largest operating vessel which
the domestic ship operator may have,” according to law,
which was approved in 2004.
The new
policy, among others, stipulates that passengers
involved in an accident be paid within five days after
the incident has transpired. For instance, the families
of those who died in M/V Carmela of Montenegro Shipping
Lines Inc., which sank on April 11, 2002, in Pagbilao,
Quezon, are not yet paid until now.
“What
they have is liability insurance. Until they have
pinpointed the cause of the incident or who is the
culprit, that’s when they will release the claims…[and
sometimes] it takes years to find out,” Suazo earlier
said.
Marina
created the passenger insurance program that calls for
passengers involved in accidents to get medical
insurance. The agency is still in the process of
revamping its policies on cargo insurance. |
