OFW families may now collect suicide insurance

November 14, 2010 - Families of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who commit suicide are now entitled to insurance benefits, insurance companies said this weekend.

The provision for suicides has been included in the compulsory insurance policy recently implemented by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) in line with Republic Act 10022, which requires all recruitment agencies to provide workers with insurance coverage from government-accredited insurers.

Eduardo Atayde, president of the Passenger Accident Management and Insurance Agency Inc. (PAMI), pointed out that “most health insurance companies will not cover injuries that are self-inflicted, including suicide."

PAMI’s coverage will now include suicide victims, even in cases when “someone survives a suicide attempt but sustains injuries that are permanent or that require long-term care… They are also entitled to benefits like hospital bills, rehabilitation costs, doctor’s bills, home care attendants and all other potential medical necessities," Atayde said.

Suicide insurance is added to other items already included in the comprehensive coverage required for each OFW by RA 10022: $15,000 in case of accidental death, $10,000 in case of natural death, and $7,500 in case of permanent disablement along with repatriation costs, subsistence allowance benefit, money claims arising from the employer’s liability, compassionate visit, medical evacuation, and medical repatriation.

Other companies licensed and certified by the Insurance Commission (IC), such as the Philippine Charter Insurance Corp. of Metro Bank Group and United Cocolife Assurance Corp., said they are ready to provide OFWs with the maximum insurance protection the industry could offer, adding that they could facilitate the issuance of insurance policies even for those residing in the provinces.

However, the POEA’s mandatory insurance policy has come under fire after some 100 employers in Hong Kong reportedly suspended the hiring of Filipino domestic helpers. The employers said the new policy is unfair as Hong Kong labor laws already require them to secure insurance coverage for foreign workers.

Other groups have argued that OFWs will eventually end up shouldering the insurance cost as there are no regulations that bind employers to honor the Philippine government's policies on payment of OFWs' placement, recruitment, and other fees. (See: Recruiter: OFWs will end up paying for ‘no cost’ insurance premium.)

POEA argued that it has no choice but to implement the mandatory insurance policy for OFWs because it is the law with the passage of RA 10022.

“The POEA is now under obligation to implement the provision on mandatory insurance cover for agency-hired OFWs… Being guided by the mandate of law, I believe POEA does not have the authority or discretion to deviate from it," said POEA administrator Jennifer Jardin-Manalili in a statement. — With Larissa Mae Suarez/VS, GMANews.TV