Bill seeks to include war risk in OFW insurance

MANILA, Philippines - Rep. Weslie Gatchalian has filed a bill seeking to include war risk provisions in all insurance policies of overseas Filipino workers.

House Bill 4924, which amends Republic Act 8042, otherwise known as Migrant Overseas Workers Act of 1995, seeks to include “war risk, invasion, insurrection, revolution, military coup and terrorism” among the perils in the compulsory insurance coverage for agency hired workers seeking employment abroad.

Gatchalian said “political and civil unrest dominates the global politics such as the Arab Spring, political turmoil’s in Libya, Syria and Iraq that swept the Arab nations and Eastern Europe and even the acts of terrorism by some fundamentalist groups such as the ISIS.”

“In the midst of this unrest are our OFWs who are caught in the crossfire,” Gatchalian added.

He noted that current government efforts to secure the OFWs from this war torn areas are limited to evacuation and repatriation. “Our OFWs are not yet financially protected for all the risk they encounter in countries under civil or political unrest,” he added.

According to Gatchalian, “our existing compulsory insurance is limited to ordinary perils such as accidental death, natural death or disablement.”

If enacted into law, the bill also provides that the insurance shall be for the entire duration of the migrant worker’s employment contract at no added cost to OFWs, he said.