Do not take safety and insurance for granted

I REFER to “RM100,000 each for crash victims” ( News without Borders, Dec 22).

Another bus accident, this time in Thailand, should prompt us to relook at safety and insurance with closer scrutiny.

Tour operators are required to attend the Travel and Tours Enhancement Course (TTEC) in order to renew their Tour Operating Business and Travel Agency Business licence with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture.

One of the five TTEC modules is on the “Safety and Security of Tourists”, in which they are reminded to check on reports of accidents or incidents.

It has now surfaced that Weerapan Tour and Travel, the owner that operated the bus that killed 13 Malaysians on Sunday was also involved in another crash on Oct 23, 2013 that killed 21 Thai passengers and injured 17.

Chiu Travel Sdn Bhd, the local outbound tour operator had left it to their Thai agent to charter a bus, and the ill-fated passengers were driven by an unstable driver who tried to flee after an earlier collision.

Back home, the Safety Star Grading (SSG) initiated by the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) should be stepped up, and not limited to voluntary participation by express bus operators only.

SSG will drive consumers to opt for safer operators forcing bus companies to upgrade their safety standards and star ratings to be competitive.

With safety in place, insurance cannot be left status quo. It is essential for everyone to be clear about covers and claims.

Those who are covered under life insurance can be assured that the beneficiary would be entitled to the sum insured regardless of how they die, or they will receive the amount in the event of permanent total disability.

Those who buy additional personal accident insurance (PAI) would also receive a specific amount for injuries caused by accidents, or the actual amount paid for medical expenses within the limited cover.

Travel insurance is for short term cover and usually includes PAI and sudden illness, which is not just advisable because of high medical costs in developed countries but needed to gain admission into hospitals when payments need to be guaranteed.

As for the Batu Pahat tour group, it was reported that all 22 passengers will receive insurance compensation of RM100,000 each.

This is unlikely to be the case as compensation would be less for those injured than those killed.

The Thai government, via its insurance office, will pay each next-of-kin of the deceased 1.6 million baht ( RM190,163) and injured passengers up to 600,000 baht.

Should a tragic bus accident occur within our country, the victims or their families may not get any compensation, other than their own insurance cover. This is because passengers in buses and taxis are not insured.

Under Malaysian law, it is only mandatory for all motor vehicles to be insured for third party injuries and all public service vehicles, such as buses and taxis, ought to be insured for legal liability to passengers.

This only insures the drivers against any claims from those injured in accidents caused by them.

But such covers are only valid when all conditions are met, such as not driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and there may be contentions if the driver’s or public service vehicle licences are not valid, the bus is overloaded or the taxi is running on bald tyres.

Although compensations that commensurate with the earning power of individuals seem fair, they normally take years for the court to award, prolonging the suffering of the victims or their families.

It is time for this antiquated law to be replaced with a fixed sum PAI cover, which can be paid out speedily without having to establish fault.

CY Ming Ampang