Kathmandu. The family of the workers has been devastated as the manpower brokers who send the labour force for foreign employment have not provided temporary insurance even after taking money.
This fact has come to light from the full text of the verdict of the Nepal Insurance Authority (NEA) regarding the complaint filed by the family of Dhruba Kumar Katuwal, who died in Malaysia.
KATHMANDU: The Insurance Authority of Nepal (ANI) has ruled that the insurance companies will not have to pay the claim due to non-issuance of insurance policies due to non-payment of insurance premium. Due to the negligence of the manpower brokers, the victim’s family has been deprived of the insurance facility.
What was the case?
A manpower company named Mount Kanchan International Pvt Ltd had claimed that Dhruba Kumar Katuwal’s foreign employment temporary life insurance was provided to National Life Insurance through its agent. The manpower company had filed a complaint at the Authority of Nepal (NRA) after the death of Katuwal, a security personnel working in Malaysia, on March 29, 2018. However, National Life Insurance had refused to pay the claim claim, saying that no insurance premium has been received in the name of the deceased and the insurance policy has not been issued.
The main basis of the Authority’s decision{
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The NRA has stated the following legal and technical grounds for dismissing the complaint in its judgment on June 14:
1. Lack of Insurable Interest The Authority has made it clear that the right to claim insurance of the deceased belongs only to his/her heir or family. The verdict states that there is no legal basis for the manpower company (Mount Kanchan International) to claim the claim as it is not the heir or official heir of the deceased.
2. No proof of payment of premium: The bank statement and software records submitted by the insurer did not deposit the insurance premium in the name of the deceased. According to Section 27 of the Insurance Act, 1992, the insurer is not considered to have accepted the risk until he receives the premium.
3. Insurance Policy Not Issued: It was found that even though there was a sticker number in the details submitted while taking the labour permit, the insurance number was not mentioned and only ‘insurance proposal’ was prepared by the company but the insurance policy was not issued.
The authority has dismissed the complaint saying that the liability of the company will not arise if the insurance is not issued as per the universally accepted principles and legal provisions of the insurance.
Message to Insurance Authority
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This decision has warned the workers going for foreign employment to proceed with the process only after paying the insurance premium and getting the official insurance policy. As soon as the policy is issued or noted, you should enter your passport number on the website of the concerned insurer to confirm that the policy has been issued. This has proved that it will be difficult to get a claim in the future if you rely on an agent without paying the insurance policy.
