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Gedrung to compensate rural insurance claim

17 October 2008

One of the most pressing issues facing the local government at gewog level, year after year is people’s failure to pay local taxes and insurance premiums on time. Gyembo Namgyal reports.

Each year, gewog officials have had to dish out substantial amounts from their own pockets to cover such premiums on behalf of irresponsible people. Recovery or reimbursement takes months to trickle in and many do not pay at all. In the end, the dealing officials end up with substantial losses based on the size of the population and household counts.

For the gewog clerk. the misery of having to pool around Nu 20,000 each year from his salary to cover rural insurance for the people of Shumar gewog itself has proven too dear. And now, he faces the unenviable situation of having to compensate the family of an uninsured deceased member for what is apparently not his mistake.

Gewog officials and the family of a 93-year-old Abi Seldon who died recently came to know of the lapses while processing the insurance claims. Ironically, it was found that the Abi’s census record in the gewog office was corrected a few years back after the family members pointed out the mistake of Abi being wrongly stated as dead. While her census status was reinstated, the family members apparently failed to pay her insurance premium and the clerk failed to notice the lapses since taking charge in 2005.

“Lapses were there on both the sides, but it is primarily the responsibility of each family member to ensure that every eligible family member is adequately covered,” said Lepo, the Shumar Gup. He also said that since the gewog clerk, who has been handling life insurance in the gewog for the last few years, agreed to compensate the family, the matter has been resolved.

“Should any dispute arise, it would have been necessary to find out who was responsible for recording Abi Seldon’s death while she was still alive,” the Gup pointed out.

The gewog clerk, Domtuk, said that he agreed to compensate the family with Nu 7,000 accepting the responsibility of not finding out the discrepancy while crosschecking the record. “I agreed to pay the family knowing very well the mistakes on both the sides. Besides, it would not have been appropriate for the family to be embroiled in a tussle,” the gewog clerk said. He however admitted that this was the last thing he expected after making tremendous sacrifices each year to avert such a situation.

Similarly, Mang Ap Sangay Dorji, who handles the insurance cover for rural houses, admits that people fail to pay their premiums on time and he ends up paying from his pocket to cover other’s insurance.

“The recovery takes long and many end up without paying at all, Shuddering on the prospect of facing a similar situation, he said, “If people come and claim insurance without paying premium and we are held responsible, we will be doomed.”

All the gewogs throughout the country are said to face similar situations. Gewog officials feel the government needs to address this situation and make the payment for tax and insurance a responsibility of the people themselves. Such intervention would help ease the burden on the officials who at the moment are often premium collectors and premium depositors on behalf of irresponsible people and the target of irrelevant claims when there are lapses.

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Posted by Bhutan Observer · Filed Under Community, News 

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