Commission to Make First Accident Pay Out Soon

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said the Commission was proactive in reaching out to families or people involved in road accidents to advise them

The family of a child who lost his life in a road accident in February will soon be given a compensation pay-out from the Accident Compensation Commission of Fiji.

Acting Prime Minister and Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum revealed this in Parliament yesterday while delivering his ministerial statement on the Commission. He said under the previous system where Compulsory Third Party Insurance was paid to insurance companies, there was a likelihood that in the case of this child, no compensation would have been paid to the family. The Commission works on a no-fault basis and Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said the Commission was proactive in reaching out to families or people involved in road accidents to advise them on how they can claim the compensation as opposed to families and victims running around seeking advice themselves. Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said instead of the Compulsory Third Party, vehicle owners now paid a Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA) levy. He further clarified that the Commission was not in direct competition with insurance companies and comments made on it were far from true since no insurance premium was paid to the Commission.

He further pointed out that the ACCF Act was passed unanimously in Parliament and not a single Opposition Member opposed it. Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said there was nothing stopping the insurance companies from selling insurance to vehicle owners, including comprehensive insurance.

He further clarified that the levy which is payable now has come down from what people made when taking up a Compulsory Third Party insurance and pointed out that people were paying 10 to 80 per cent less to what they were paying when insurance companies were selling policies for CTP. “The low levy underlines Government’s objective to ensure social justice and not to be profit oriented.”

In the month of January, there were 13,347 motor vehicle levies paid, totalling $946,504.68 VIP. A total of 73 Land Transport Authority officers from 22 branches are assisting in this area. The Commission office is currently under construction at the LTA. There is a choice to either accept the predetermined amount, by lodging a claim for a lump sum payment with the Commission OR to institute legal proceedings for compensation. The maximum amounts payable by the Commission, in regard to personal injury suffered by a person as a result of a motor vehicle accident in Fiji are as follows:

a) in the case of permanent partial incapacity $75,000;

b) in the case of permanent total incapacity, $150,000; and c) in cases other than paragraphs (a) and (b), $75,000.