First fisherman to receive large sum of money from fishing boat insurance compensation

(Baonghean.vn)-On July 27, 2015, at the People's Committee of Nghia An Commune, Quang Ngai City, Quang Ngai Province, the Ministry of Finance coordinated with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor and the People's Committee of Quang Ngai Province to organize a ceremony to award 2.7 billion VND in fishing boat insurance compensation to fisherman Pham Thi Be, owner of the QNG-97206TS boat of Quang Ngai. This is the first fishing boat insurance contract under Decree No. 67/2014/ND-CP on a number of fisheries development policies, including insurance policies for fishermen to be compensated with large sums of money by insurance agencies.

Attending the compensation handover ceremony were Mr. Phan Van Anh, Head of the Finance Department of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, Mr. Nguyen Quang Huyen, Deputy Director of the Insurance Management and Supervision Department, Mr. Pham Truong Tho, Vice Chairman of Quang Ngai Province - Head of the Implementation Board of Decree 67 of Quang Ngai Province, Ms. Ngo Thi Kim Ngoc - Chairman of the Quang Ngai Provincial Labor Federation, representatives of the fishing trade union, leaders of departments, branches and sectors of Quang Ngai Province and fishermen of Nghia An Commune. All four insurance companies participating in the co-insurance, namely Bao Viet Insurance Corporation, Petrolimex Insurance Joint Stock Corporation, and PVI Insurance Corporation, were present at this first insurance compensation handover ceremony.

Insurance agency representative handed over insurance money to Ms. Nguyen Thi Be

Speaking at the compensation awarding ceremony, representing four co-insurance companies, Mr. Le Van Thanh, General Director of Bao Minh, said that since the Government issued Decree 67/2014/ND-CP on a number of policies for fisheries development, Bao Minh and co-insurance companies have recognized this as a major and correct policy of the Party and State to support fishermen in both human and property to confidently go out to sea. Therefore, the companies have actively participated in practical surveys in localities and contributed ideas to the Ministry of Finance to develop Circulars guiding the implementation of the Decree, especially the drafting of Rules and Insurance Fee Schedule to ensure maximum benefits for fishermen who are insured under the Government's support program.

For its part, with the role assigned to lead the insurance companies in the area to participate in implementing the Decree, Bao Minh has reviewed, re-evaluated and made plans to improve all issues related to fishing vessel insurance, including financial budget, human resources and training programs, business administration and management systems, and communication programs. In addition, we have also worked with the reinsurance market to upgrade the reinsurance program to be able to meet any requirements of the fishing vessel insurance market. In Quang Ngai, the most serious case was the sinking of Ms. Pham Thi Be's ship with the actual total loss compensation of 2.7 billion VND. The compensation amount today was handed directly to the ship owner, at the place of residence, affirming the commitment and responsibility of the insurance company to the insured customers. This is a necessary source of funding to support ship owners to overcome some of the difficulties, have the opportunity to restore and continue offshore fishing activities.

Speaking about her feelings when receiving the compensation, Mrs. Pham Thi Be, the owner of the fishing boat that sank, said that in order to have the above fishing boat, her family had to borrow from the bank. The loss of 2.7 billion VND is a huge amount of money for our family, after the loss, her family fell into despair with no way out. Therefore, with the timely attention of our superiors, fishermen have more confidence in the policies and guidelines of the Party and the State, and can confidently go to sea - Mrs. Pham Thi Be said.

Representing the insurance market management and supervision agency, Deputy Director of the Insurance Management and Supervision Department Nguyen Quang Huyen said that according to the report of insurance companies, as of June 30, 2015, there were 4,346 fishing vessels participating in hull and fishing gear insurance; 42,110 crew members participating in crew accident insurance with a total insurance amount of 10,279.9 billion VND, of which: hull insurance value was 6,892.7 billion VND, fishing gear insurance was 439.4 billion VND; total crew accident insurance amount: 2,947.7 billion VND.

In Quang Ngai province, with the active direction and support of the provincial leaders, departments and branches have had 644 ships and 9,042 crew members participating in insurance with a total insurance amount of 1,825 billion VND. The Ministry of Finance highly appreciates the proactiveness, urgency and responsibility of insurance companies in compensation settlement and requests insurance companies to continue to settle compensation for ship owners quickly and promptly when losses arise. At the same time, we would like to thank the Provincial People's Committee, departments and branches of Quang Ngai province for their active coordination in directing and implementing Decree 67 and supporting insurance companies in insurance compensation work. We hope to continue to receive this attention and coordination in the coming time - said Mr. Nguyen Quang Huyen.

On behalf of the local leaders, Mr. Pham Truong Tho - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Ngai province highly appreciated the efforts and determination of insurance companies, all levels and sectors in implementing Decree 67. The Vice Chairman requested Bao Minh Quang Ngai, the leading unit, and co-insurance companies to be more determined to help fishermen understand the preferential policies of the Party and State for people and assets of fishermen while they are at sea for production. At the same time, Vice Chairman Pham Truong Tho also took responsibility for the decisions of the local government in mobilizing, managing and supervising the functional agencies and people to implement Decree 67 in the area.

Also at the insurance compensation awarding ceremony, representatives of ministries, departments, branches and localities also spoke, expressing their agreement with the Government's major policy, aiming to help Vietnamese fishermen feel secure in staying at sea, staying on their ships, and producing and getting rich in their homeland's waters.

Red River