The Passenger Personal Accident Insurance (PPAI) program reported benefit payments worth P63 million in 2016, or an increase of 28 percent, according to the Insurance Commission (IC).
Insurance Commissioner Dennis B. Funa said such benefits aggregated only P49 million in 2015.
“For calendar year 2016, the total benefits paid under the mandatory insurance program amounted to P63 million, an increase of 28 percent compared to the P49 million benefits paid in 2015,” Funa added.
The data is based on the report submitted to the IC by the two accredited management companies under the current PPAI program, which are the SCCI Management and Insurance Agency Corp. (SCCI) and Passenger Accident Management and Insurance Agency Inc. (Pami).
A total of P46.25 million, or 73 percent of the P63 million, claims paid under the PPAI program, were paid as death benefits. For the last three years, the death benefits paid continued to rise by an average 29.63 percent, from 2014 to 2016. Another P16.44 million and P320,000 were paid as medical and disability benefits, respectively, he added.
Funa said the increase in benefits paid was traced to the increase in the death benefits, from P150,000 to P200,000, under the 2015 to 2018 Enhanced PPAI program. The rise can also be attributed to the continued growth in the number of incidents.
Under the program, an increase in the number of public-utility vehicles (PUVs) insured under the PPAI program was noted, according to Funa.
“For the year 2016 a total of 392,299 PUVs were insured under the PPAI program compared to the 351,157 units and 355,691 units insured in 2014 and 2015, respectively. In terms of type of units insured, the jeepney segment has the highest share with a total of 176,213 units insured,” he said.
In terms of number of units insured, the jeepney segment was followed by the sedan segment, with 90,930 units; truck segment, with 66,756 units; AUV segment, with 32,462 units; and the bus segment, with 25,938 units.
In terms of reported incidents and claims filed, a total of 1,044 incidents were reported and a total of 2,474 claims filed before the two management companies, according to the IC.
“As to the number of reported incidents involving PUVs, there was an increase of 11 percent, from the 941 reported incidents in 2015 to 1,044 incidents in 2016, a majority of which involved jeepney accidents,” he added.
A total 2,474 were filed as death, medical and disability benefits.
However, there was a 43-percent increase in reported incidents involving the bus segment, from 247 incidents in 2015 to 354 incidents in 2016, he said.
Under the Insurance Code, PUVs are required to procure insurance cover for their passengers, including the driver, for accidental death and bodily injury claims.
Under the Enhanced PPAI, the maximum amount of death benefit is P200,000 per passenger, while the amount of benefits for bodily injuries is based on a schedule of benefits provided under the policy depending on the injury sustained.