Fisheries insurance - 'lifesaver' for fishermen

(Baonghean) - Fishing is a traditional profession with high economic efficiency, but it is also a hard-working profession with a high risk rate. Therefore, insurance for crew members and fishing vessels is an effective solution to support and minimize losses for fishermen when incidents occur at sea.

Incentives for fishermen to participate in insurance

Fishing requires high investment costs, while fishermen often do not have much capital. Therefore, many people mortgage their houses to borrow capital to build fishing boats; some boats have more than 15 people contributing capital. On these boats, crew members hardly buy insurance; and fishing boat insurance costs up to tens of millions of dong per year, which is too high for them.

To solve difficulties in the fishing industry and at the same time create trust for fishermen, the Prime Minister issued Decree No. 67/2014 on a number of policies for fisheries development. Accordingly, fishermen will be supported with insurance costs for offshore fishing vessels with main engine capacity of 90CV or more, with a support level of 100% for crew insurance, 70% for insurance for vessels from 90CV to under 400CV and 90% for vessels from 400CV or more. This preferential policy contributes to solving difficulties for people in the issue of participating in and paying for insurance; at the same time, promoting the role of a "lifebuoy" for fishermen participating in seafood exploitation at sea.

Fishing boats leave Lach Quen wharf to head out to sea. Photo: Quang An

Every year, if a boat is involved in an accident or loss at sea, the Steering Committee coordinates with PJICO Nghe An Insurance to pay compensation for damages, helping fishermen quickly restore their fishing business. However, there are still certain difficulties in the insurance payment process.

According to fishermen, the State supports 70% or more of the cost of purchasing boat insurance and 100% for crew members to create conditions for them to feel secure at sea. However, to make fishermen interested in this policy, insurance companies need to provide guidance, explain the principles and create favorable conditions for insurance buyers to pay when the boat is in trouble or damaged at sea.

Don't let fishermen "lose faith"

Nearly a year has passed since the fishing boat of Mr. Tran Xuan Duong, Nam Thinh hamlet, Dien Ngoc commune (Dien Chau) sank at sea and had to hire a salvage ship to bring it ashore, but when talking about insurance, he still can't help but sigh.

He said: In April 2016, his boat was sunk by storms at sea, and he had to hire a salvage ship. Although there were no casualties, the machinery and engine were severely damaged. The total cost of repairs was nearly 30 million VND. Immediately after the incident, because he had paid for boat insurance, Mr. Duong filed a file to send to PJICO Insurance Company, Dien Chau District branch, to receive benefits. However, up to now, nearly a year has passed and the claim has not been resolved, causing the family to feel "lost faith".

The boat of fisherman Nguyen Huu Luong, Dien Hai commune (Dien Chau) also had its rudder broken 3 months ago, so he had to hire a fishing boat to pull it ashore for 3 million VND, and replace the steering part for 10 million VND. However, when completing the insurance claim documents, the insurance company (who bought insurance from a company outside Hai Phong) required that all those expenses must have a red invoice to be resolved. Because he hired a fishing boat from a fisherman to pull it back, he could not have a red invoice, so the documents could not be completed. "Now we can only wait for the insurance company to resolve it, because traveling back and forth takes a lot of time" - Mr. Luong shared.

Dien Ngoc Commune (Dien Chau) is one of the localities with the strongest seafood exploitation in the district. The total number of boats in the commune as of February 2017 was 471, of which 94 boats had a capacity of over 90CV. Most of the boats over 90CV have fully participated in hull insurance, however, the number of remaining boats participating in insurance is still limited. Mr. Nguyen Van Dung - Vice Chairman of Dien Ngoc Commune People's Committee said: Some fishermen with boats under 90CV do not fully understand the benefits of participating in insurance so they have not bought it even though they are supported by 70%, on the other hand, there are boats operating in a short range, rarely having incidents so they are somewhat subjective. Every year, the commune promotes propaganda and mobilization about the benefits of participating in insurance to encourage people's volunteerism, but the rate is not high.

Through examining some records, it is shown that the insurance payment procedure is complicated and troublesome while the level of understanding and awareness of seafarers is often not high, so the payment of compensation is not simple. The requirement of the insurance company is to have all relevant documents, but when implementing, fishermen often get stuck with the exploitation license, red invoices for repair costs... Meanwhile, when a boat has an accident at sea and there is no unit or organization operating under the rescue company model to provide invoices for fishermen, the insurance payment procedure is still difficult.

Nghe An is considered one of the localities with the highest number of vessels over 90CV participating in hull and gear insurance in the country (over 72%). However, due to many reasons, many fishermen are not "interested" in boat insurance. Therefore, in addition to the propaganda and mobilization of local authorities and fisheries associations, PJICO insurance needs to promptly remove some obstacles in documents and procedures to pay insurance correctly and quickly. Only then can the Government's policies continue to be widely implemented, actively accompanying fishermen when going to sea to catch and exploit seafood.

X.Hoang - Q.An