Sarawak Teachers’ Union (STU) secretary-general Chung Fui San was understandably enthusiastic with the proposed group accident insurance scheme for teachers accompanying students taking part in activities held outside their schools.
She pointed out that STU members could also choose to pay for the Diamond Accident Protector and have the insurance extended to cover spouse and children.
But it would be a mistake to think that insurance offers protection, it doesn’t. Protection comes from wearing safety helmet, belt, shoes and clothing, or usage of safety tools and equipment when necessary. The best form of protection is to take precautionary measures and remain alert.
It is important to note that insurance cover is limited and not for everything, and insurers only cover risks unlikely to happen.
Apart from settling successful claims, insurance companies need to pay their agents and staff, administration and office expenses, licence fees and taxes, and generate a return on investment. All these are funded by premiums paid by the insured.
Insurance has been misunderstood for a long time and even today, many people still have the wrong notion. A lot of pain and frustration can be avoided if more people have a clearer understanding of it.
To begin with, insurance does not offer any protection although the word is popularly used to sell insurance. It can only pay compensation to the insured who suffered a misfortune. It works by getting large number of people to participate in a huge fund
managed by an insurance company.
For most of the contributors, there is no monetary return as they were fortunate not to suffer any harm to themselves or damage to their properties. For the minority who were not so lucky, the compensation received by them is many times more than the premiums they have paid.
It is an odd case of “winners” losing their money and “losers” gaining monetarily. However, compensations can never replace what was lost, and very often, the claimants would receive much less than what they had hoped for.
The public should not be lured by low premiums or high returns as everything would be lost should an insurance company collapse. Occasionally, senior citizens complained they are not eligible to buy insurance and have their life savings wiped out by expensive medical care.
We must realise that life and medical insurance can only be bought with our health and paid by our wealth. For those who continue to scorn at the quality of our public hospitals or find queuing unbearable, get your insurance cover now before it gets too expensive or beyond reach.
However, having an insurance company to underwrite your risks does not necessarily mean there are no further monetary risks to worry about. It would be wise to read and adhere to the fine print as the insured may not be fully covered for all types of contingencies.
For example, there is no insurance cover for private vehicles used for e-hailing service unless the registered owner has paid for add-on covers, similar to additional covers for flood at RM5 for every RM1,000 sum insured, and lower at RM3 to cover riot, strike and civil commotion.
As for general personal accident insurance (PAI), the premiums vary according to types of occupation and do not cover extreme sports. Most insured are attracted by the high cover for death or permanent disability, but the most common claims are for medical expenses.
Most PAI packages provide low cover for medical expenses, which is not enough if the injured sought treatment at private hospitals. Moreover, most government hospitals are well staffed and equipped to receive and treat injured victims, from emergency admission to follow-ups.
Chung was spot on when she said instructions in current standard operating procedure are merely guidelines without details on methods and procedures for bringing students on excursions, and noticed legal clauses are also unclear.
There were many occasions when public service vehicles chartered to transport students could not cater to the number of passengers, and teachers had to use their own cars to send students instead of leaving them stranded and heartbroken.
But there is no insurance cover should students be injured in private cars and teachers would have to pay compensation as awarded by the court should parents decide to sue, and such amount could be substantial, and teachers could be bankrupted for being kind.
And here is a poser. Would you prefer to travel outstation in a 10-year-old taxi or 20-year-old bus in dilapidated condition but are fully licensed and insured. Or would you choose a brand new unlicensed but uninsured private car?
For me, I would choose the latter. And for all of us in normal situations, the best form of protection is to be careful, lead a healthy lifestyle, raise our awareness on safety and security, and contribute to make this world a safer place.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the New Sarawak Tribune.
